Replacement
by Keitaro26
Summary: Originally posted on mediaminer - not my work, simply posting here to spread an excellent story. Head to p?id 89206&submit View and give props to the author.
1. Mommy Found You

1-Mommy Found You

When Edward woke up he realized two things, one, he was completely naked, and two, he was in complete darkness.

"Auuh," he attempted to call out for his brother when he realized three more things. One, there was a ball-gag in his mouth, two, he was tied to the bed he was laying on, and three, his automail limbs were missing. Panic flooded the elder Elric's brain as he thrashed his leg stump while wailing behind the gag.

There was a sound and slowly light appeared to his right. Ed could clearly see the outline of a door as several locks were unlatched and the door open, blinding Ed for a moment with the fresh light.

"Marcus, you're finally awake! You had Mommy so worried," a voice called and Ed opened his eyes. Was someone else locked in the darkness too? In front of him a middle aged woman was smiling down at him as she reached down and stroked his cheek. Ed pulled back and the woman looked at him with brown eyes before smiling. "Oh, I understand you want the gag out. Well, Marcus, that can't be helped. I saw that man you were cavorting with. Dressed in that funny armor. I won't let my darling baby boy associate with such riffraff and until that man is gone that gag is going to remain in except for mealtimes." Ed thrashed more and the woman smiled.

"Oh, Marcus, I've missed you too, but now you're home and once that monster of a man is gone, it will be as it was before," she said, kissing Ed's forehead and starting to leave. Ed groaned and the woman stopped. "Is there something else?"

Ed thrashed before looking around quickly. It was a cellar, very heavy duty. Even if he did scream it would be hard to identify. No windows. He didn't know where he was or where Al was. He was on a small, four post bed. His left arm and right leg bound to the posts. There was a blanket by his feet.

"Oh! Marcus, I'm so sorry! How could Mommy be so forgetful?" the woman pulled something out from under the bed and Ed's eyes went wide with shock as she grabbed his penis and placed it against the cool metal of a bedpan. "Go ahead." He stared at her and she laughed.

"Alright, alright, I was only teasing, I know you can't go unless I'm out of the room," she chuckled and the door closed, the lantern on the floor far enough from Ed's bed not to be a fire hazard.  
Ed studied the room more now that the woman was gone. There were no windows and the only way out seemed to be the door the woman had come from. The bed wasn't alone, there was a tub, toilet, and sink in the corner beside the door. The toilet was enough to turn Ed's stomach, the tub rested on four hideous clawed feet that looked to be solid stone. Across from the bed was a bureau that looked ready to fall apart. Then something caught Ed's attention in full.

There opposite the bathtub, toilet, and sink was empty space, but the walls were covered with writing.

'Please help me.'

'My name is Andrew Conahan, you stupid bitch!'

'Help!'

'Let me go, you hag!'

'My name is Joshua Billings.'

They kept coming, at least five different handwriting samples, four names, and enough messages to make Ed's body get covered in a cold sweat. The worst was the door, there was the sound of liquid hitting an empty metal vessel. Ed realized that his bladder was releasing at seeing the scratch marks covering the door and the stone surrounding the door and the bloody hand prints brown with age, plus the seven human nails were enough to scare the piss out of the elder Elric.

"All done, Marcus?" the woman asked and Ed shivered in fear as she entered and smiled at his now full bedpan, removing it from between his leg and his stump. "Wonderful! Do you have to do a number two?" Ed shook his head as he stared at her in horror.

"Good, good, I'll bring you breakfast in the morning. Would you like the covers?" she smiled at him and Ed nodded, anything but to be completely exposed and naked before this horribly confused woman. She pulled the blanket over him and tucked it in.

Alphonse was a wreck, last night he and Ed had been attacked by an alchemist. He hadn't seen who it was, they had worn a cloak and Ed had been knocked unconscious by the initial attack. Al had tried to grab Ed to get out, the next thing he knew there was a kid playing with his helmet while another was trying to climb into his chest. Needless to say he freaked and two trails of urine marked the path of the two children.

Normally, Al would have felt horrible about scaring two little kids but he couldn't while his brother was missing. When he woke up and found Ed gone, the first thing Al did was contact Central and Colonel Mustang. That resulted in the inevitable waiting for Alexander Louis Armstrong, Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Riza Hawkeye, and a few of the other Central crew.

Al was pacing the train station, scaring adults and children alike, they wouldn't be arriving for another fifteen hours, but there was nothing Al could do. He had gone back to search the site where they were attacked but there was nothing. He had questioned all the homeowners and they told him they had been at the festival that Ed and Al had been leaving when they were attacked.

If he had his human body, Al was certain he would be crying. It was horrible, his brother, the only thing he had, was gone! Nothing could be worse, even being blasted into pieces by Scar wasn't this bad. Not knowing where Ed was, how he was doing, and who had him, it was enough to cause his armor to rattle with fear.

The horror of it being a homunculus was too much and Al began to pace again. There was nothing worse than not being able to do anything and not knowing anything.

Ed was scared. Cold sweat covered his naked body as he twisted the rope around his wrist, the knot was out of his reach, twisting his wrist till the skin was ready to break only let his fingers brush against the ends of the rope. If he pressed harder he might be able to reach the knot, but ripping open the skin of his wrist and leaving it open for infection in this cell was not something he wanted.

Then the doorway lit up, Ed froze and quickly decided to play dead. He closed his eyes and relaxed. The door opened and someone entered. There was the setting down of something by the bed, then a shuffling of something into the corner. The rush of water told Ed the bathtub was being filled.

"Marcus, baby, wake up for Mommy," a voice said and hands began to stroke Ed's cheeks. He jerked away and looked at the woman, she was in a housedress, it was very…matronly, she looked healthier than she did last night, well he thought it was night. "Did Mommy's good boy get a good night's sleep?" Ed nodded, anything to get the woman away from him.

"Oh good," she said as she smiled, sitting on the bed next to Ed, pulling a stool over with a tray of food. "Mommy's going to remove the gag, now will you be a good boy and not yell?" Ed nodded and the woman's eyes darkened, making Ed's hair stand on end in fear.

"You better not break your promise, Marcus, Mommy wouldn't have to operate again, it went so poorly last time," she hissed and Ed shook his head, eyes wide and sweat dripping down his brow as he looked at his crazy captor. She smiled, seemingly harmless and motherly. He studied her as she moved over him, her skin was darker than his, her hair a light brown, closer to what Al's hair had once been, and her eyes were a light brown. If Ed had seen her on the street, he'd never guess she was a lunatic.

"Good boy, Marcus," she said as she reached around his head and released his gag, slowly removing it from his mouth, her fingers gently moving over his lips, checking for blood from chapping, Ed guessed. "How is Mommy's good boy?" Ed looked at her expecting face and he swallowed. He had to make it out of this. He had to find Al and get this woman locked up. He wasn't the best actor, but he could do enough.

"I'm…I'm good, M-m-mommy," he stammered, it hurt him to call this woman by such a sacred title, but he would defile his mother's memory worse if he died and left Al trapped in that armor shell alone. He looked up at her and tried to smile, but it was obviously forced, still the woman smiled with joy and pride before holding a bowl.

"I brought you some oatmeal, I know you don't like it, but you've been gone so long, Mommy wasn't prepared to find you so soon," she said before lifting the spoon and moving it towards Ed's mouth. He was scared to eat as she looked down at him and sighed. "I know, Baby, but Mommy doesn't have much else, I will go to the store later and get you better food, for now, just eat this for Mommy. You wouldn't want Mommy to use the feeding tube would you?" Ed quickly opened his mouth, letting her place the warm oatmeal into his mouth. The thought of having a tube shoved down his throat was too much.

"What a good boy!" she cried and Ed swallowed quickly, opening up to receive the next spoonful. It seemed like an endless torture as she fed him. Finally stopping and smiling. She leaned down and to Ed's horror kissed him on the forehead, the tip of his nose, and then lightly on his lips. "Mommy is so proud of her Marcus." She placed the bowl down and lifted something up, it was a very long straw.

"Drink your milk while Mommy finishes getting your bath ready," she stated, placed the straw in front of his mouth. Ed gagged at the thought of milk, but he had to survive for Al. He opened and took the straw, sucking while watching her move to the tub. She went from the tub to the hall, back to the tub. Ed's straw made the familiar 'empty' sucking sound. Ed was shocked really, he hadn't tasted the milk at all. The woman approached and smiled.

"What a good boy, Marcus!" she cried before pulling off his blanket, leaving Ed naked again. She moved toward his ropes and then stopped. "Mommy wants to give you a bath. I want your word that you'll be a good boy, Marcus." Ed nodded. She stared at him and he swallowed nervously.

"I'll be a good boy, Mommy," he whispered and she smiled. Freeing his hand and then moving to free his foot. Ed struggled to sit up, shocked when the woman lifted him into her arms. Ed nearly had a panic attack, the woman was Maes' height, then again, he was minus his automail weight, plus his short stature, it was no shock that she could lift him.

"Good, Marcus, Mommy loves you," she sighed, burying her face into his shoulder, above the automail port. "Even if you are missing things, Mommy loves her Marcus." She gently placed Ed into the warm bath water and he felt warmth move through his body.

Ed huddled in the bath as she pulled the stool over and sat down, pulling him over to the side before taking soap and a cloth to him. Ed was shocked as she began to scrub him clean, his eyes watching her as she moved the soap over his chest, following the soap with the rag, scrubbing firmly, causing the skin to flush.

"You are being such a good boy!" she smiled before pushing his hair over his shoulder and getting his back. Suddenly her hand was between his legs, rubbing the soap over an area he had taken care of himself for the past seven years!

"What are you doing?" he cried and she grabbed him, causing him to eep from pressure on such a tender area.

"Marcus, you do not talk back to your Mommy! Mommy has to clean all of you, you know that!" she snapped and Ed nodded. Slowly she used the cloth, far gentler than on the rest of him. Ed was dark red from this humiliation before she smiled and dumped water over his head. "Mommy loves to take care of her Marcus." She sang some nonsense song as she began to wash Ed's hair.

The young alchemist was terrified, he had no clothing, nothing to write with, no automail limbs, and an insane woman as a caretaker.

"Mommy missed you so much, Marcus," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around Ed's shoulders, her breasts against his back and his soapy head tucked under hers. Ed was so helpless, scared, and angry. There was nothing he could do. Nothing. Well, there was one thing he could do. Ed cried as the woman behind him hugged him, sung to him, and called him by a name that was not his own.


	2. Mommy Misses Daddy and Marcus

AN: What do you think? Horribly twisted? Let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own any character in FMA but I can't wait for Ed's 18 B-day.

2

~*~

Roy Mustang stared at the man behind the desk, who was laughing at them as if they were pulling a joke on him. He wiped his eyes before taking in the stern looks.

"Oh, you're serious, I thought you were joking," the man said quickly straightening his modest uniform. "You have to understand, the night you say your friend vanished is the fall harvest, we celebrate the work of the year. Every year about forty individuals 'vanish', some for a few days, usually we end up celebrating marriages. My apologies for thinking you were kidding."

Roy felt some of his anger diminish, this man probably had a joke like that pulled on him several times, he probably laughed just as long and loud every year for the past thirty years of his life.

"Please, you have to find my brother," Al cried and the officer looked at him before nodding.

"Alright, do you have a picture we can use for a Missing poster, color would be best," the officer stated and Al pulled out a photo of Ed and him from the some random party in the past six months.

"Will this do?" Al asked and as soon as the smiling officer saw the photo he froze, the laughter died on his face.

"I see…" the officer muttered before reaching for his phone with a fumbling hand. He dialed and the tension in the room tripled. "Morgan, is the Detective in. No. No, the one on the serial case. Good. I'll tell you later." The phone slipped into the cradle and the officer handed Al the photo back.

"What's going on?" Roy demanded and the officer shook his head.

"Upstairs, Office 218, Detective Woodgrove will be waiting for you," the officer said before turning to his paperwork.

Roy nodded to Maes as they got up and hurried to the next floor opening the door to Office 218.

Ed stared at the writing on the wall as the woman brushed his hair. A shackle was around his ankle, securing him to the bed. While he was in the tub she had moved to the bed and he had seen a flash of an alchemic reaction. It scared him more that a woman capable of science would be so mentally unstable.

She had carried him to bed and placed him down, shackled him immediately, then, she sat on the bed, propped up on pillows against the headboard, before pulling him back between her legs so she could brush his hair.

Ed was rereading the cries for help as her fingers moved through his hair, the nails gently scratching his scalp in a way that made goosebumps break out across his body in pleasure. He was sick with his body's reaction to her treatment. She had brushed his hair till it was dry and now was just playing with it, playing with him.

"My Marcus is so handsome, like his Daddy," she whispered and she wrapped her arms around him. Ed froze as she hugged him from behind, surrounding him like some horrible spider wrapping up its captured fly. "Mommy misses Daddy." Her hand stroked his shoulder and Ed felt ill.

"M-m-mommy still has Marcus," he whispered and her nails bit into his flesh, causing Ed to whimper in pain. The woman's lips fell on the wounds she inflicted and Ed froze, goosebumps of fear rose on his skin.

"Mommy will kiss Marcus' booboos better," she hissed, her lips pressing down, tongue running over each mark she made. "Mommy missed her Marcus. Did you miss Mommy, Marcus?" Ed was shocked, but his mouth knew what to say.

"Mar-umph!" the gag was shoved into his mouth and the woman kissed his cheek.

"Marcus was a very good boy. Mommy is happy, so happy Marcus can move around the room, but he has to stay chained to the bed," the woman said as she got up, leaving the lantern to illuminate the room. The door closed and the various locks sounded. Ed reached up and tried to remove the gag, his fingers finding, to his horror, that to remove the gag, you needed a key.

The elder Elric curled up on the bed, wrapping the blanket around him as he looked at his cell. The blood on the walls here and there spoke all too well about his future. He had to hope Al had called the Colonel. Mustang was a complete jerk, but he would gladly accept the Jerk's assistance than remain trapped with this new 'Mommy'.

Roy opened the door to see the back of a very curvy woman as she talked on the phone while looking out the window behind her desk.

"I don't care if it's expensive to ship him out here. I need his expertise in decomposition. That is none of your business. No, you idiot, it's a confidential case, no one but participating detectives and professional experts are given that kind of information," she raised a finger at the group and indicated the chairs scattered around the office. "You will tell Graham to get his tight ass on the next train out of that hellhole and get here within the week, I'm claiming the IOU. Oh, he'll know what I'm talking about." She hung up the phone before turning around. The dark brown hair, that was in a bun so tight it made Hawkeye's hair look relaxed, was giving the illusion that it was a dark red and not a deep brown.

"I assume you are Detective Woodgrove?" Roy asked and the woman nodded. She slipped the police jacket off, revealing a military style undershirt with the sleeves cut off.

"Yes, mind if I smoke?" she asked as she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her police jacket. The group shook their heads and Havoc took out a cigarette of his own. "So I assume you're here to report someone missing. Let me see the photo." Al handed the photo over as she lit her cigarette. Roy saw the tattoo on her bicep, a familiar unit that had been disbanded.

"You were a Chimera?" he asked and the others stared at her in shock.

"Yea, Chimera Squadron, I joined soon after it formed, I quit a month after that Ishbal fiasco began," she stated as she looked at the picture, not looking at them. When her eyes did move up a few of the group stiffened. Her eyes were the same honey gold as the missing Elric.

"You quit?" Roy asked and she smirked.

"Dishonorable discharge was the official report, I made life hard for my commanding officers and told them I wanted out, eventually we agreed that 'Lewd conduct unbefitting a Soldier' was a good enough excuse," she said with a smirk. Roy chuckled. "I'm not joking, I had to go through half my squad and sexually harass them before they kicked me out. You try and get a man to testify that he was sexually harassed, practically impossible." Roy and Hughes smirked more before she turned her eyes to Ed's image. Her pale skin flushed as she looked at him, she looked mad and quickly finished her cigarette.

"So, why are we here?" Al asked and Detective Woodgrove sighed.

"Laketon is a rather prosperous town, in four more years we'll be able to apply for reassessment as a city. In the past, nearly a decade now, something horrible has been kept secret," she got up and opened a door into an adjacent office. "Follow me."

The group entered the next room and Al cried out as he saw the bulletin board. Nine pictures were tacked up, three had dark hair, two had red hair, four had various shades of blond hair, all had light brown or gold eyes.

"May I keep this?" Detective Woodgrove asked and Al nodded as he stared at the boys that all looked eerily similar in appearance. The Detective moved to the bulletin board and the group all made some form of shock as the Detective folded the picture and placed Ed's image at the end of the line of pictures, placing the date over his image. "Laketon has been plagued for the past seven years by a serial kidnapper and murderer."

Al did something no one expected…he fainted.

Ed moved along the floor surrounding the bed, looking for anything he could draw with. The floor was amazingly clean of debris; stains however, were another matter. Ed had looked under the bed to be horrified by the sight of a large brown stain that could only be old blood.

He had been looking for anything he could use to draw an array with, but it had been hard trying to move with only one leg and one arm. He sobbed in helpless anger behind his gag, struggling to get onto the bed and curling up as he tugged at his shackle. It was no use, it was alchemically created, becoming part of the bed and fusing completely around his ankle.

Tears of frustrated vulnerability trailed down his cheeks, his arm moving to rub them away. Ed hated to cry, but he couldn't help it, it was rare he cried, he had barely cried since the death of his mother. Now, however, with the fear of death and the thought of leaving Alphonse all alone in a world where his true form would nominate him for a lifetime playing a lab rat. Ed couldn't leave Al alone, but if he was trapped in this lunatic's basement, he couldn't do anything about it.

The door began to unlock and Ed looked up to see the woman enter with a plate of food and a chair. She smiled warmly at Ed before setting down the chair, pulling the stool over and setting down the plate. It was a wrap of some sort, filled with chicken, cheese, and a few other things Ed recognized.

"Mommy brought her good Marcus lunch," she stated as she reached over, pulling Ed so he was sitting on the edge of the bed across the stool from her. "Here we go." She pulled the gag from Ed's mouth without Ed seeing the key. He closed his eyes and licked his lips before he felt her lips against his. Ed freaked out and nearly pulled back before he remembered her bipolar attitude in the tub.

"Mommy's good boy has such rough lips. Mommy will take care of that later, now it's time to eat up," with that she cut the corner of the wrap and offered the fork with the piece on it. Ed opened his mouth and the woman smiled as he ate. "How is it?"

"Very good…Mommy," Ed whispered and she smiled happily. "This is the best behaved Marcus in a long time. Mommy is so pleased with you!"

She continued to feed Ed his lunch.

"Some wise guy wanted to call it the Lion-Eyed Killer, but many of us found it offensive. So far we've only found five bodies," Detective Woodgrove stated as she stood in front of the bulletin board. "So four are still under missing, but we feel it's unlikely that they're alive."

"You mean Ed's dead?" Al cried and Woodgrove shook her head.

"Actually, it's quite the opposite," she moved to the board. "The disappearances are usually one a year, and when we find the bodies, they're usually under a day dead."

"So, the kidnapper keeps them alive for extended periods of time," Roy stated and Woodgrove nodded.

"At least eight months. The kidnapper usually picks a youth, age thirteen to eighteen, all around five foot two," Woodgrove pointed to five pictures that were circled with black marker. "These five were the ones found. Each body was found minus the head, however, on these three," she pointed to two brunettes and a redhead, "were found with traces of dye on their shoulders. We did a comparison and found that it was blond hair dye. I'm sure she's looking for blond, golden eyes adolescents for a reason."

"She?" Hawkeye asked and Woodgrove nodded. Her brows lowering as she thought before nodding.

"I haven't talked to some of the others about this yet because it is a radical theory, but I think the suspect is female," she stated.

"And why would you assume that?" Maes asked.

"The cause of death in the five bodies has a similarity to what you see in wartimes when a mother will kill her child," Woodgrove looked at Roy. "Most mothers will kill their child rather than see them dead at enemy hands. Usually they smother, poison, or drown their children. The first two were poisoned and the other three drowned. I think this kidnapper is trying to find a son, and not only that, but a crippled son."

"What?" was a resounding exclamation and Woodgrove pointed to four pictures.

"This is the 'first' victim, he was crippled as a child when a tree fell on him, he was missing both his left arm and left leg. He had been fitted with an automail leg, he would have been able to afford his arm a year to the day he was reported missing," Woodgrove moved to the next image. "'Three' was minus an arm due to playing with firecrackers as a teen, 'four' was missing a leg as was 'seven', and now number 'ten' is missing an arm and a leg."

"His name is Edward!" Al cried and Woodgrove shook her head.

"His name will be dirt if you don't calm down, when was he taken?" she asked.

"The night of the festival," Al stated and her eyes widened.

"Where?!" she cried as she grabbed a spike of Al's armor and pulled him down to be face to face with her.

"An ally behind several of the bars," he cried and she smiled before kissing Al's armor.

"We might have a good shot of saving your friend," she cried before grabbing her jacket and exiting the room. "Come on!"

"Marcus has been so good today," the woman whispered as she stroked Ed's face and he fought the urge to pull away. "Mommy will heal Marcus' dry lips." Ed closed his eyes as she pulled him toward her. He waited for whatever medicine she was going to use, instead to his complete and utter revulsion he felt her lips on his before his bottom lip was sucked into her mouth. He tried to cry out only to have her tongue lavish his lip before grabbing his hair and holding him so she could repeat the process on his upper lip.

"Marcus tastes like Daddy, maybe Mommy didn't find Marcus this time," she whispered as she looked at Ed. The strange light that was burning in her eyes was enough to cause Ed to whimper and cry out for his real mother. The light vanished. "Of course Marcus tastes like Daddy, Daddy made Marcus with Mommy, so naturally Marcus tastes like Daddy. Mommy found Marcus." Ed backed away from her, unable to escape as she forced the gag into his mouth again. She got up and took the chair, plate, and lantern with her, leaving Ed in the darkness to think as the locks clicked shut.

The woman was beyond disturbed, she thought he was her son, or her husband, or somebody he definitely wasn't and Ed was getting a horrible idea that she was going to realize he wasn't who she thought and he was going to go the path of the people who wrote on the walls.

AN: I hope everyone was deeply disturbed by what happened to Ed in this chapter and is hopeful that the others will find a clue at the scene of the abduction. Even if you're upset about Ed's submissiveness, things are going to get dangerous in the next chapter. Keep reading.


	3. The Fates of the Not-Marcus

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, but I do own the PS2 game and first DVD.

AN: Normally I do Author's Notes at the end of my chapters but I realized something with one of the recent comments. Detective Woodgrove is NOT a chimera. I repeat she is NOT a chimera. What I did and now realize is confusing is I called her Squad the Chimera Squad, you know, like Delta Squad. She was part of a team that called themselves the Chimera Squad. They were NOT chimeras. I'm sorry for the confusion.

3: The Fates of the Not-Marcus

~*~

Ed yawned before he realized what pulled him from his sweet slumber, someone was petting his head. His eyes opened but the only thing he could see were two glowing orbs in the blackness, the Nina-Alexander was staring at him and he screamed behind the gag.

"New…Marcus…" a voice growled, so unhuman Ed felt sick, a chimera capable of human speak…a human chimera.

"Poor new Marcus," another voice stated and Ed noticed three more pairs of glowing eyes. Ed had four chimeras in his cell with him.

"Is…hurt?" a voice struggled to speak and Ed realized there had to be something in the mouth making it so hard to speak. He shook his head as tears ran down his face.

"Will be," a fourth voice stated before all the eyes were by his side. There was the sound of claws clicking against the floor. "All of us hurt by the end." This one spoke very well. Ed tried to talk, the gag making all his words consist of vowels.

"Go…now?" one asked and Ed shook his head as he sat up and pulled at his chain.

"Can't…" another stated and there was a clicking of claws as two pairs of eyes vanished, the sound of the door opening. Ed screamed and cried behind his gag and the remaining eyes looked at him. Suddenly hands were on his ankle around the shackle.

"Don't!" a voice hissed.

"Why not? We could save him!" the one that spoke the clearest was trying to free him. Ed sat up, slowly realizing that the hands on his leg were furry, with pads on the fingers and palm, sharp claws grazed his skin every now and then, not breaking the skin, but there.

"She…kill…" another voice whispered.

"Maybe death is nicer," the voice helping him stated as he tugged at the chain for a while longer, suddenly he was gone.

"Not…die…for…him," the one with something in his mouth growled and there was the sound of a struggle before the door opened.

"Help him!" the one that spoke well cried and a single pair of eyes looked at Ed.

"Sorry…no want…die…" with that the eyes vanished and the door closed, the sounds of the lock clicking in place. Ed curled up in the darkness, unsure if it was day or night, but certain he didn't want to end up like that…a chimera.

"This is where Edward was abducted?" Woodgrove asked as she looked around. "Do you have something of his on you?" Hawkeye held out Ed's suitcase that Al had been clinging to since they had arrived. Woodgrove opened it up to find a pair of boxers.

"What are you doing with my brother's underwear?" Al demanded and Woodgrove looked at Al as if he was insulting her.

"Ed wasn't the kind to go commando was he?" she asked and the group stared at Al who shook his head, somehow managing a flush. "Good."

"What are you planning on doing?" Maes asked and she lit a cigarette before walking around. She smirked as she held the boxers out and then placed them on the ground.

"My father was a very talented Alchemist, he was a whiz with chimeras, tutored that Tucker fellow. When I heard what happened with Tucker I was certain my father was spinning in his grave," Woodgrove said as she looked at the boxers on the ground. "However, my father hated chimeras, called them atrocities and regretted making them. My father turned to finding uses for alchemy in investigations. He created a method of alchemy to trace dead skin and fibers that had touched a person." The group was shocked.

"Gregory Woodgrove was your father?" Armstrong asked and Woodgrove smirked before nodding. She flicked her cigarette at the boxers, letting them burn before stomping a thick leather boot down, creating a circle with her arms. The alchemic reaction began at her boot, the fire turned to light, then an outline shone in a corner…an Ed-shaped outline.

Ed woke up when the door opened, this time it was the woman with a lantern and with something to eat. Ed stared at her as she came in, another matronly housedress with a few dirt smudges on the apron.

"How is Mommy's good Marcus?" she asked as she placed the tray of fruit down in front of Ed. He sat up and lowered his head, something on the floor caught his attention. There were small scratches on the floor by the door, where the helpful chimera had probably been pulled from the room.

"Mommy hopes the Pets didn't scare Marcus. The Pets are nice, a bit rough, but they are Good Pets," she stated as she released Ed's gag and he stared at her.

"Why me?" he whispered, he was going insane being locked in the dark, then her bipolar mood swings, now chimeras, what else could she do to him? He wanted some answers damn it! Ed hid behind his bangs, studying her through his hair. She sat there for a moment before catching his jaw and forcing him to face her.

"Marcus tried to leave his Mommy. He tried to leave like Daddy, and those others, but Mommy loved her Marcus, he was her last and he was so helpless, he needs his Mommy. Marcus is Mommy's precious baby, she won't let him go," the woman said looking at Ed with that sinister light in her eyes. "Marcus should know, Marcus was punished for trying to leave Mommy! Marcus was punished for marking up the walls! Marcus was punished for screaming! Marcus was punished for saying dirty words!" Ed's eyes widened in fear as the woman began screaming her rants. Her fingers and nails digging into his face as she stood up, forcing his head back so he would look her in those mad eyes of hers.

"Marcus wanted to do what all the others did! But Mommy wouldn't lose her Marcus. Mommy mad sure that Marcus could never, ever leave his Mommy. Every time Mommy sees Marcus outside she realizes that the one she has isn't Marcus! She knows how clever Marcus is. Alchemy was Mommy's gift to Marcus, she uses Alchemy to keep her Marcus right…where…he…belongs!" She screamed before Ed whined pitifully as the truth hit him like a train. She killed her own son! Dear God, the woman killed her own son! She must have seen boys that looked like her son, taken them here too. She must have then seen other boys that looked similar to her son and thought that they were him and the ones she had were fakes. She would punish them when they talked back, wrote on the walls, swore at her, did anything a mother would punish a son for, but then once she realized they were fakes…she killed them too.

Ed didn't want to cry but the tears were building in his eyes. He had nothing to write with, no way he could draw a transmutation circle, he had only one arm and one leg, and he didn't even know where he was. The tears were a mix of fear and anger at the situation. If only he had a pen or a stone.  
"Oh…oh Marcus, Mommy is sorry, Mommy gets angry easier now," the woman whispered as she leaned over and pulled her hand back. His blood was coating her fingers and she looked at her hand. "Marcus should know better than to make Mommy upset now." She began to lick her fingers clean and Ed stared in abject horror as she licked his blood off her fingers before pushing him down.

"Please…I can clean myself," he whispered and his wrist was pressed into the bed. The woman glared at him before shaking her head and straddling his waist. Ed was horrified.

"No, Marcus, you are Mommy's son, you could use your blood to draw a transmutation circle again. Mommy won't make that mistake twice," she moved towards him, catching a fistful of hair in her hand as she moved over him, her mouth finding the cuts she made on his chin. Ed sobbed as her hot mouth closed over each cut, her tongue moving over his skin and down his neck. She cleaned his blood from his neck and chin, resting her weight on top of him. Ed stayed still until he felt her lips cover the pulse point on his throat, it made him jerk against her. Her tongue playing over his skin, the warmth, the wet, it was too much for a much too celibate and too hormonal teenager. Ed gritted his teeth against the pleasure, it was so wrong to feel this kind of pleasure from his torturer and captor. Her wrist held his down in a vice-like grip as she sucked harder on his neck, flicking her vile tongue in a way that started to result in blood flow to the one place Ed didn't want it. Slowly she stopped and Ed turned his flushed face away from her, tears of rage over his traitorous body leaking from his eyes.

"Is Marcus embarrassed? Mommy understands, Daddy was very sensitive around the neck too. Mommy will take care of it," she stated and Ed's eyes widened in shock as she moved off of him to the side. His wrist still in her hand and against the mattress as her other hand moved to another part of his body. Ed stared at horror, his voice cut off as her hand found his now erect penis.

Woodgrove had her gun in her hand as she walked down the alley, the Ed-shaped glowing outline had not ended in legs but a path of light. Currently the group was following the path of alchemic light as Woodgrove carefully led the way down the ally. Hawkeye, Fulman, Maes, and Havoc all had their guns out as well, staying behind the Detective as she looked around the corner.

"This is what we call the Hollows," Woodgrove whispered. "When Laketon was formed it was a frontier town, mostly men, very few women and families. This was where the fishermen and lumbermen would come to drink and relax. As the village grew bars shut down in favor of pubs and bordellos were closed due to the scrutiny of suspicious housewives. This part of town should be demolished, but the town wants city status before asking for some State Alchemic help in turning the houses back into raw materials. There's some good brick and timber in these old buildings."

"Why is this of interest?" Roy snapped, he was getting irritated and Woodgrove gave him a look.

"The Hollows are where all the backroom deals occur, any crime is usually planned in one of the abandoned buildings. The few murders that have occurred have been here, and most of all, of the five bodies, three were found in the lake mashes that border the Hollows," Woodgrove stated. "We need to be prepared to fight an alchemist who kidnaps and kills."

"Good point," Maes stated as she turned the corner, the path led into another maze of alleyways. "No one is going to attack us first are they?"

"Possibly, but most of the scum knows to avoid me, I've been searching the abandoned buildings for more bodies and clues, so far nothing, but I can always hope," Woodgrove stated as she continued to lead them through the abandoned section of town where Ed was hopefully still alive.

Ed wanted to die as he cried out, arching his back as his captor finished him off. He sobbed at the warm liquid pooled on his abdomen, chest, and captor. She hummed as she gently patted his cheek.

"Stay still, Mommy will clean you off," she stated as she walked over to the tub and Ed looked at his semen on his body. He felt the tears on his cheeks as he realized that he was perverted enough to get off because his kidnapper had jacked him off. Ed could only masturbate rarely, that was the downside of having a brother that didn't need to sleep and inns that didn't have private bathrooms. He felt so violated, he wondered if rape victims felt this way.

"There we go," a warm cloth moved over his lower belly, she gently cleaned him off before wiping her hand clean and smiling. "Now eat up, Mommy will get your clean sheets." With the locking of the door, Ed was left with the bowl of fruit. Apple slices, banana, raisins, cucumber, and some other dried fruit. Nothing wet enough to make a transmutation circle with. Ed began to eat, if he had a whole body he would be curled into a fetal ball eating, but because he was less, his leg was curled to support him while he fed himself. If she had left him with some blood or semen he could have done it. She wouldn't allow that and he was afraid to see what would happen if he broke the bowl. He couldn't let himself get killed, he would have to wait and hope she made a mistake or that Al and the others would find him. He had to get Al his body before he could have the luxury of dying.

The group stared at the building, the path led to the door. Woodgrove looked at them.

"I don't know what to expect, but I want to go in and hit hard, I assume everyone is trained to that point?" everyone but Al nodded. "Mr. Elric, you will cover our backs, I will go first, once I give the all clear you can follow." With that Woodgrove moved to the side of the door, she whipped around and kicked in the door, disappearing into the darkness.

For several seconds that felt like hours the group didn't breathe until she stood there with her back to them and made a come motion. Quickly the soldiers and the soul trapped in a suit of armor followed into the living room of the house. Woodgrove looked around.

"This place is too clean," she stated and the others took note of the lack of dust, dirt, and spider webs. "Common crooks don't clean this much. We break up into two groups. Major Armstrong, take those two with guns with you as well as Mr. Elric. Colonel Mustang, I would prefer you accompany me with the Lieutenant and the Lieutenant Colonel. We'll take care of down here and the Major's group will take care of the upstairs."

"Understood, do it," Roy stated and the group divided.

Ed stared at his empty fruit bowl, he was so nervous, he wanted to pee, he could use that for a transmutation circle, but…could he draw that well, Al always made fun of his name in snow.

"Big brother, your name looks like Egwan," Al's voice resounded in his head and Ed wanted nothing more than for his brother to come along and tell him everything was alright. Ed would gladly accept hugging his metal brother's cold body naked than another moment trapped in this madwoman's basement.

"How's the upstairs?" Roy asked as Armstrong, Fulman, Havoc, and Al entered the living room.

"Empty, sir, just as clean, but empty," Armstrong sighed. The usual pink sparkle around the man was gone, Armstrong did care about the Elrics as if they were his own sons, it was no wonder the man was so down.

"If there's nothing upstairs, Lieutenant Hawkeye and I have found something," Woodgrove stated. The group looked at the heavy wooden door that could only lead to a basement.

"Well?" Roy asked and Woodgrove pulled out a piece of chalk, drawing a symbol that Roy recognized, before placing her hand on it and blasting the door open. The group rushed in!

The woman's scream rang behind the door and then the sound of a struggle, a gun went off before there was the dull sound of a body falling down stairs and then colliding with the door. Ed froze, his eyes looking at the bottom of the door, then slowly blood began to slip under the door, creating an ever growing puddle. Ed's eyes widened in hope as the doorknob jiggled.

Woodgrove kicked the body of the woman that had rushed up at them in the darkness. She was sickly looking, the butcher knife in her hands stained with blood, her eyes gazed over in death.

"This was Madcap Maggie," she stated as she watched the woman's blood slip under the heavy basement door. "She was homeless, lost her husband and three sons in the Ishbal incident. Lost her mind and house afterwards. I heard she was being charged with killing small animals, but…"

"The door's locked!" Al cried as he jiggled the handle.

The handle slowly stopped jiggling and there was a scratching sound on the door, it was light and almost inaudible. Ed felt his heart pound in hope.

Woodgrove placed her hand over the same transmutation circle as before and the door blasted open….

~*~

Ed's eyes widened in shock as the door opened.

"It's empty…" Al whispered and the group stared around the room. In the corner was a trunk and in the other corner was a pile of rages.

"The path died at the door," Woodgrove stated. "Maggie could have come in if the door was left unlocked. Search her body for a key to this door." With that Woodgrove moved to the trunk as Hawkeye moved to the pile of rags.

The sound of Woodgrove's gun blasting off the lock on the trunk was replied by Roy.

"There's nothing on her," Roy stated.

"Nothing in the rags," Hawkeye reported.

"That's because it's in here," Woodgrove stated as she held up a familiar red jacket. "Maggie didn't do this."

"Ed's jacket!" Al cried as he rushed over and peered into the trunk, there were all of Ed's clothes that he had been wearing. Slowly Al pulled out the two most terrifying objects of all. Ed's automail arm and Ed's automail leg.

"Is Mommy's Marcus alright?" the woman stated as she stood in the doorway, the gun in a malformed hand of a chimera. Ed's eyes were locked on the chimera. It wasn't very humanoid, but it was scarily similar to the Nina-Alexander. Only it had far more human hands than the Nina-Alexander did. The face was staring at Ed and there was a slight rasping from the mouth. "The Pet was bad, he wanted to take away Marcus, but Mommy won't let anything take away her baby." Ed stared at the creature, the large hole in its chest was obviously caused by the saber in the woman's hand.

"What…what is that?" Ed managed to whisper and the woman smiled.

"That's a Pet, Mommy makes Pets out of the Good Not-Marcus, you know that Marcus," she said and Ed it the wall he backed up so far on the bed. The creature's eyes slowly glazed over and the gun fell from its furry hand.

"He…he was on of the ones that wrote on the wall?" Ed asked and the woman shook her head.

"No Marcus, you know Mommy took care of the Bad Not-Marcus, they wouldn't try and trick me again, I kept their heads to make sure," she growled and Ed's head hit the wall with an audible thud. "The Good Not-Marcus couldn't leave. Mommy won't have them come looking for her Marcus. She won't loose her Marcus again, not even to a Pet." With that she reached out and shoved the gag in Ed's mouth before wrestling him to the bed.

"The Pet scared you, don't worry, I'll take care of you," the saber approached Ed and his eyes widened before he closed them in fear, then came the feeling of something around his wrist and a tightening of his chain. Ed looked up at his arm to see it was chained to the bed again. "Mommy will keep her Marcus like this for a little bit. Marcus got too scared." The woman placed the bedpan under him before moving to the chimera. She began to draw with the blood and Ed watched in horror as the body was deteriorated into a bag made from the creature's skin. The woman dragged it away, allowing a trapped Ed to stare at the bloody puddle and think about what he had discovered.

ANII: Review and let me know what you think, not enough crazy woman freaking Ed out, too much incestuous crazy woman, letting me know what a jerk I am for leaving Ed in the basement totally helpless?


	4. To Repair a Broken Family

Disclaimer: While I do not own FullMetal Alchemist I have to claim this plot as mine, enjoy and hate me for my treatment of beloved characters, well, Ed anyway.

~*~

4-To Repair a Broken Family

~*~

"What do we do now?" Al whimpered, hugging the two automail limbs to him as he had been since Woodgrove had ordered everyone to go to sleep and come back the next morning.

"The Detective will let us know what to do next," Hawkeye stated as she patted the large armor that seemed so much like the young teenager whose spirit was housed within it.

"Sadly, Al, I think we may not be able to do much more than pray," Roy sighed and they opened Woodgrove's office door.

"…calm down, Catherine. I'm sure Jordan is going to come back. I know, but you are not the only one with bad luck with men," Woodgrove was on the phone, not looking at the door. "No. Not recently. Well, there was a cute State Alchemist three weeks ago, but he was just a stress reliever. Please, he was twenty and a ball of hormones. I'm sure she's spinning in her grave with Dad. Mmmm, maybe, well if he's got pale skin and dark hair you know I'd do him. As different as Dad and the boys as I can. Oh, my nine o'clock is in. Yes, I'm sure he'll come back, you're five months pregnant and Markie won't let you leave his sight. Jordan loves his son and he loves you. You two just have explosive tempers." She indicated that they sit.

"Yea, another one got taken. Yep, down to the missing leg and arm. Yeah. I know. He's a State Alchemist. Well if you didn't get knocked up I wouldn't be handling all this alone. Yes, I blame you for it, you're the woman, you should have thought about that when you slept with your husband," she laughed and wrote several things down. "Well, this would go faster if we both could keep off tangents but what pair of sisters can do that? Yes, Madcap Maggie was trying to break into the basement, she might just have been trying to find something to steal. No, the Captain understood and, sadly, no one really cared about poor, old Maggie. Well the State Alchemist and military dogs that are his friends are here to help me. You concentrate on raising Markie and tell him Auntie will be there to see him at dinner tonight. Yeah, kisses. Bye." Woodgrove placed down the phone and handed a piece of paper to Roy.

"What's this?" he asked and then read it as a proof of property ownership.

"That is the deed to that piece of crap we raided. It belongs to an Andy Menklin. Nice fellow, I knew him well when I was a kid," Woodgrove stated as she pulled out another piece of paper and held it out to Roy. "This is Andy's death certificate." Roy stared at the pieces of paper and then looked at Woodgrove.

"The property was bought after Menklin's death?" Roy asked and Woodgrove nodded.

"The plot thickens. I have about four monkeys down in the pit digging out the property files for the Hollows as well as a check on the owners of said properties," Woodgrove stated as she headed into the next room.

"So your sister was on the case as well?" Hawkeye asked and Woodgrove nodded.

"Yes, Catherine and I are the two best detectives on the force. She's old school, poor thing couldn't transmute a cup of water into ice, however, she's far better at getting into a killer's mind where as I'm the much better bloodhound. Being a dog of the military gives you a nose for certain things and a better feel for your instincts," Woodgrove stated as she moved to a map on a bulletin board that had been added to the room. There were five pins marking the sites where the bodies were found and then several question marks on buildings throughout the Hollows.

"Will we find Brother?" Al asked, the armor creaking and Woodgrove sighed.

"Mr. Elric, do not hold your breath, but pray. This is the first clue we've had since the last body two months ago," Grovewood stated.

"Detective Grovewood, you have to come see this!" an officer cried out and the group looked at the disheveled officer.

"What is it?" Grovewood asked, giving the officer a glare that rivaled Hawkeye. The officer whimpered before gulping and standing at attention.

"We've found a weird body," he stated and the Detective didn't look amused.

"Why am I being pulled from my case when it finally starts going somewhere to look at a body?" she asked and the officer began looking at the additional people in the room.

"It's not human…Chapman thinks it was once a chimera," the officer stated and the room froze.

"It was? What's wrong with the body?" Woodgrove asked and the officer sweated.

"The skin…it was turned into a bag around the body…" the officer stated and the detective and officer stared at each other for a moment. "It was also found near where the Lion-eyed Killer victims were found."

Ed sat in the bath, his arm and leg secured to the edge of the tub as the sheets were changed. The woman was humming as Ed soaked in the steamy water, the gag in place and the tub alchemically altered to keep him from moving. He watched the woman as she finished making the bed and then moved over to the doorway. She began mopping and looked at him smiling.

"Mommy is so happy, Marcus, I have you, I have the Pets, and those fools have no idea where we are. I saw the big, metal fool and several military lapdogs staying at the inn. They were heading for the Hollows. Can you believe that? As if I would keep you anywhere near those filthy Hollows," she laughed as she scrubbed the blood from the floor. "Mommy followed them, they must be helping the police. Those Traitors won't take you away from me again, Marcus, I lost you to them once, never again will I see you taken away. Mommy will kill us both to keep her Marcus from those Traitors."

Ed stared at her as she finished moping up the chimera's blood. She carried the bucket over and dumped it into the toilet before she began to clean it. The woman looked at Ed and smiled, moving over to ruffle his hair lovingly and Ed fought the urge to dunk his head.

"Mommy missed you so much Marcus, she couldn't stand it when she realized that last Non-Marcus wasn't you," the woman stated as she looked at him with such a tender and loving gaze, Ed was disarmed for a moment. "Marcus was always Mommy's favorite. Mommy still remembers when Marcus was born. The others all screamed because you were less than they were. Mommy would have none of that, Marcus was Mommy's precious baby, he was less than the others, so he needed Mommy more than the rest." She washed her hands before she used a cup to dump water on Ed's head.

Ed fought the urge to panic, for the past day all he wanted to do was scream and scream and scream until his lungs burst. Of course, Ed knew he was becoming hysterical and fought with tooth and nail to prevent that. The woman began washing him, singing another nonsense song as she cleaned him. Ed closed his eyes and thought about his Mother, her smile, her smell, and the way Al's eyes looked just like hers.

The group stood and watched Woodgrove and several other officers stare at the body. A few officers were writing down everything that was said by Woodgrove and the other officers. Woodgrove nodded and a few officers lifted the body and carried it over to the road beside the dock.

True enough, the 'bag' looked like it was made out of fresh skin, but there was no seam. Beneath the skin it was clear something not quite human was contained in the bag. Havoc looked green as Woodgrove began to press around the bag and shake her head before talking with a few of the other officers. A patty wagon came and the bag body was placed into it before Woodgrove returned to the group and lit a cigarette.

"What do you think?" Maes asked and she looked disappointed.

"I think I'm going to miss a great home cooked meal tonight and spend this evening with a chimera corpse trying to decipher if it was once one of the missing boys," she groaned as she let out a long plume of smoke.

"You…you don't think its Ed do you?" Al asked and Woodgrove shook her head.

"While it's not impossible that it was Ed, I doubt it. So far we know that the kidnapper and killer is an alchemist, we know that five bodies have been found, four haven't been found, not including Ed, and finally, I felt two arms and two legs," she stated as she took another drag.

"The limbs could have been replaced by the animal agent in the transmutation," Roy stated and Woodgrove shook her head.

"True, however, if that was the case then the limb substituted by the animal agent would be unaltered. All four limbs were altered in the same manner, meaning both agents in the transmutation had all their limbs," Woodgrove stated. "I'll have to do the autopsy." She looked miserable.

"Will you need any help?" Maes asked and Roy and Armstrong immediately looked at him. Woodgrove looked at Maes and shook her head.

"I don't think so, unless any of you are good with chimera transmutation," she stated and Al stepped forward. "Who taught you?"

"Ed and I stayed with Mr. Tucker while Ed was becoming a State Alchemist," he stated and she smirked.

"Thanks for the offer, Mr. Elric, but I know more than Tucker, like I told you, my father tutored Tucker," Woodgrove stated before pulling off her jacket. "However, I'm going to go to Roll in the Hay, any of you want to come?" The group looked at her in shock.

"You're going to do what?" Hawkeye asked and suddenly Woodgrove began to laugh.

"Sorry, you probably haven't been to the local pub, the local bar where most cops go to is called Roll in the Hay," she chuckled. "I was asking if anyone wanted to get a drink before you head to the hotel and I head to my date with the chimera." Havoc, Hawkeye, Roy, and Maes accepted and the five went for a drink.

Ed lay on the bed as the woman finished cleaning the wall. There was something horribly disturbing about how all the writing on the wall was gone. She obviously hadn't bothered to do that before since there had been so many different handwriting samples.

"Mommy is so happy to have her Marcus back. Finally, after all those Non-Marcus, Mommy has you back," she stated as she drew a transmutation circle on the broken bureau and then the light flashed and Ed stared at the repaired bureau. "Maybe Mommy can trust you with clothing. Would Marcus like clothing?" Ed looked at her and nodded.

"I…I would really like some clothing, M-mommy," he whispered and the woman smiled before nodding and heading out of the room, closing the heavy door behind her, the locks clicking in place.

Ed closed his eyes and took deep calming breaths. His heart was pounding so fast, he was more than a little thrilled about no longer being naked.

The five sat around the table, each drinking while only Hawkeye and Woodgrove actually ate something while they drank.

"Sorry about your dinner with your sister and nephew," Maes stated as he sipped his whiskey. "I'm missing out on dinner with my wife and daughter, Elysia. Want to see a picture?" With that the other three Military personnel groaned while the detective politely looked at the picture before smiling.

"She's adorable, this is my nephew," she stated and pulled a deck of pictures from her jacket. Roy, Havoc, and Hawkeye all felt ill as the two began playing some hellish form of poker only using pictures as the cards and the chips!

"Wait…who's this?" Maes asked and Woodgrove looked at the picture before pulling it out of his hands and staring at it for a moment.

"Ma…my son," she stated as she stroked the picture. "He was my son." Roy looked over her shoulder at the picture at the beautiful little boy with big gold eyes and light brown hair, probably only three or four.

"What happened?" Havoc asked and Woodgrove closed her eyes before making the picture vanish into her jacket like a magician. She looked at her drink for a moment before sighing.

"My ex-husband and I met shortly after I was dishonorably discharged. We lived in Central, I was working for a repair shop while he worked for a local hospital," she stared into the amber liquid in her cup. "We got married and soon we were pregnant. When he was born he had a malformed arm. The doctors stated it was unavoidable, probably a genetic trait from my family, I had close family members with similar conditions. My baby had to have his right arm removed and I blamed myself for it." The picture appeared and she stared at it.

"Then he got sick. I had to quit my job, not that it was a big deal, Al…my ex-husband could handle the bills and such without me, I could have stayed at home all I wanted anyway. I worked to keep myself sharp and up to date with my alchemy," she stated as let the picture vanish up her sleeve. "It went in cycles, he'd get sick, I'd stay home, he'd get better, I'd go to work, and then he'd get sick again. I had to spend every hour with him some days. He was my baby." A tear fell from her eye.

"He never got to see five," she whispered sipping the rest of her drink. "He would have been twelve this Friday. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have had this last drink. The pressure gets to you after a while. His birthday, the case, missing dinner, I'm kind of a mess." She started to get up, but Maes stopped her.

"No, I can't imagine losing Elysia," Maes stated and Grovewood looked at them.

"You need to sober up before you work on that chimera anyway," Roy added and Grovewood smiled slightly.

"You're right of course," she stated.

"Need a cigarette?" Havoc asked and the detective and the soldiers smoked in silence.

"Mommy made this such a long time ago, hopefully Marcus hasn't grown too much since then," the woman stated as she approached Ed's bed. Reaching out she pressed a mark on the chain and Ed's wrist slipped free.

"Let Mommy help Marcus up," she stated as she placed the garment down, pulling Ed into an upright position. "Here we go." With that she guided Ed's head into the shirt, helping him pull the sleeve down before she let go and smiled.

Ed stared in complete and utter shock at the shirt. It was a dark red, similar to his jacket, completely missing a right sleeve. The shirt was perfect for a person missing their right arm and Ed's world slammed to a halt in terror.

"Mommy has to leave," she stated as she pulled the shirt down to cover his groin region, the shirt ending at his mid-thigh. "You be good, Marcus." With that she pressed him down and kissed his forehead before shackling his wrist again.

The group headed out, they hadn't talked much since Woodgrove had explained about her son.

"I expect to see you all tomorrow afternoon," she stated and the group looked at her. "The pit monkeys are suppose to bring me their findings in the morning, plus I need to make my official report on the chimera tomorrow morning, I won't be able to talk to you till then." She smiled at them, her eyes lingering on Havoc as if seeing him for the first time before she turned and headed out into the night.

"Al must be worried," Hawkeye stated as she walked next to Roy while Maes began the famous Elysia torture on Havoc. Roy stared at the street for a moment as they walked.

"I'm worried about Ed. He isn't known for his obedient nature," he stated. "I'm worried about him exploding on this alchemist. He has to be in serious trouble if he hasn't used his alchemy to escape on his own." Hawkeye nodded.

"Well, he is missing his arm, we all know Ed relied on his non-transmutation circle alchemy. Without his arm, Ed's been cut down in fighting ability," Maes added.

"He still can draw a circle with chalk," Havoc added, lighting a cigarette.

"All of Ed's clothes were in that trunk," Hawkeye reminded as she pulled out her room key as they approached the inn.

"He could still use a rock, dust, blood, anything," Havoc shot back and the group went silent. "You…you think they'd have found a body…you know…" The sentence went unfinished.

"Like the detective said, Havoc, the arm and leg were made from equal parts, I don't believe that the chimera is Ed. But, I'm still not convinced we should feel any relief until we have Fullmetal back," Roy stated.

The door opened so suddenly that Ed was certain it was a rescue squad, but instead it was the woman, looking incredibly happy in what seemed a rather rushed together outfit, as if she had rushed to get dressed.

"Oh Marcus! It's wonderful! Mommy saw her Alexander! He's come back to me! Isn't it wonderful Marcus? Daddy's back!" the woman cried as she danced around the room giggling. "I wasn't really looking at those Military Dogs, but when I stopped to do so, don't you know, Alexander was with them! Soon, Marcus, soon we'll have the family back again…I know it!"

Ed's heart began beating faster with fear this time for his friends. True, he really didn't think much of the Colonel and the crew, but they were very good to him and Al. They had to be watching out for Al now, so Ed felt somewhat responsible for what happened to them. Hawkeye was very nice to them, Fury treated them like they mattered, Armstrong was more of a father than his biological father, for all his petty whining and bitching, they did look out for him and his brother even when they didn't have to.

As the woman danced around Ed wondered who was going to become 'Alexander'. The irony if it was Roy would make Ed vomit, the person Ed was counting on the most to find him getting kidnapped too. That would just be too ironic. The woman approached the bureau she had fixed and drew a circle on it, suddenly another bed was in its place and Ed felt sick.

"Soon, Marcus, Mommy will have her family back, even if she has to take them back one at a time by force," she said and the light in her eyes was too terrible, Ed whimpered and closed his eyes, wishing he could just curl up into a fetal position. "Soon, we'll be one big, happy family again!" Insane laughter resounded back from the walls of the cell and Ed couldn't help but cry from the fear.

AN: So what do you all think of this chapter, can you guess who's going to be taken...probably I made it rather obvious...but I want to hear some thoughts. If you noticed I was nice enough to give Ed some clothing, but he's still chained to the bed. On the plus side, he's going to have some company soon. ^_^


	5. Daddy's Home

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA but I do wish I had Roy chained to my bed.

~*~

5: Daddy's Home

~*~

The group entered the office in the early afternoon to hear the sound of a screaming child in the next room.

"I said no, now go play with your toys," her voice was firm but gentle.

"I want it! I want it!" a child's voice cried and the group looked through the doorway to see Woodgrove tap the small dark haired boy on the nose. Standing in front of the bulletin board with the Hollows was a woman with the same dark hair as Woodgrove.

"No. We don't always get what we want, Markie, you need to learn that," Woodgrove stated as she stood up. "Ah, here they are, Catherine. Catherine meet Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes, Alphonse Elric, Alex Louis Armstrong, and Gene Havoc. All of you meet my sister, Catherine VanBuren."

"Auntie Angie, Auntie Angie, don't forget about me!" the little boy cried tugging at Woodgrove's jacket.

"How could I? This is my nephew, Markie VanBuren," she stated as she lifted the little boy into her arms, looking matronly with a child balanced on her hip. "Say hello, Markie."

"Hello!" the little boy cried as he waved and smiled, his little button nose wrinkling as he smiled so wide it had to hurt. His dark hair matched his mother's and his aunt's, however he had bright green eyes, much like Maes', while his mother had a light shade of blue. "Don't worry, Auntie and Mommy will find your friend! Auntie can smell trouble, she'll find him in no time!"

"Hey, don't I get any credit," VanBuren stated with her hands on either side of her telltale pregnancy bulge. The little boy straddled his aunt's hip obviously in thought.

"Mommy's the best at getting fat!" he cried and the group couldn't help but smile.

"I swear, somehow your sarcastic attitude got passed to my offspring," VanBuren stated as she glared at Woodgrove.

"What can I say? I may baby sit a little too often," Woodgrove chuckled before setting the boy down and handing him a toy car. "Enough pleasure, time for business. You might want to look at this report as well as the map, we found out quite a lot last night."

Ed watched as the woman dropped bundle after bundle of hay on the new bed, enough until the entire bed was covered. She painted a transmutation circle on the hay before changing the hay into a mattress. Ed didn't make a sound as he watched her prepare the bed with chains and sheets.

"Is Mommy's good boy happy about Daddy coming home?" she asked and Ed nodded behind his gag, his arm and leg still shackled. "Good, Mommy wants everything perfect, let's hope this is Mommy's Alexander." She moved over to Ed, freeing his arm and leg, removing his gag and placing a tray of food in front of him.

"Are you excited to see Daddy again, Marcus?" she asked and Ed looked at her before nodding.

"Very excited, Mommy," he stated as he looked at the oatmeal. She must need to do her shopping again. Slowly he ate as she watched him, smiling dumbly in a disarming manner. She sure didn't look crazy at the moment, but Ed couldn't forget the way her eyes could light up with that insane gleam or the way her face could contort into a vicious hag's. Ed shivered as he ate and found his blanket tucked around his waist.

"Mommy is so happy that she's found Marcus and Daddy, soon the whole family will be right again," she sighed and Ed prayed that whichever one of his friends happened to look like 'Daddy' would be heading back to Central for some reason.

Woodgrove looked at Havoc, then VanBuren looked at Havoc, then they looked at each other before Woodgrove looked at the reports Havoc was reading.

"If you don't understand it, please hand it back," Woodgrove asked in a voice torn between a whine and a growl, a vein in her temple throbbing.

"Detective, you seem stressed this afternoon," Hawkeye stated and Woodgrove nodded.

"I was stuck with that stupid chimera all night, I barely got three hours of sleep and then the pit monkeys delivered the papers to the wrong office. I've had to track it down while writing my autopsy report, thank God for Catherine coming to check up on the case," Woodgrove sighed. "I'm just near my ropes end this week, hopefully the paperwork will help figure out the pattern."

"So, you had trouble with exploding organs last night," Roy stated as he read the report over Havoc's shoulder and Woodgrove nodded.

"The skin was transmuted not only into the bag form but also to be airtight. My guess is the killer didn't want the decomposition of the body to be noticed right away, allow the body to decay longer, luckily we've been in that area inspecting houses," Woodgrove moaned. "But because the body was decomposing in that tight casing, gases built up in certain organs, making autopsy especially miserable."

"Sounds like you had a bad night," Havoc stated before handing off the report to Maes.

"So, Colonel, are you married?" VanBuren asked and Roy nearly exhaled his coffee across the reports if Hawkeye and Woodgrove didn't rip them out of the way.

"Catherine!" Woodgrove snarled and the pregnant woman held up her son like a human shield, something that seemed more appropriate for Maes to attempt.

"Oh come on, he's just your type, dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and if he's not married, perfect," VanBuren commented and Woodgrove's eye began to twitch. "So answer the question, Colonel." Roy stared at the woman as if she were some hideous monster.

"No…I'm…not," he muttered and VanBuren smiled at Maes.

"What about you, Lieutenant Colonel?" VanBuren asked and Maes quickly showed his ring. "Pity."

"Catherine, this is not professional," Woodgrove sighed as she let her head hit against the table.

"Really, Angelina, you should think about it, you were only just commenting on the way a man in uniform makes you…" with that Woodgrove clamped a hand over her sister's mouth and glared at the pregnant woman in abject horror.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're son is sitting right there and the boy in the armor is only fourteen!" Woodgrove hissed and the look of smug contentment was again something more familiar on Maes' face.

"Detective Woodgrove…we found the last of the reports Detective VanBuren was so…insistent about," an officer said with a pile of reports in his hands.

"Thank you," Woodgrove stated as she took the reports and began to pass them around the group. "Everyone read and Catherine, you get to do the map work. Try and keep your mouth shut, Little Sister." With that, the Hollows began to tell its dark secret.

"Marcus' hair is so beautiful, Mommy is so jealous of her son's pretty hair," the woman sighed as she sat behind Ed, the brush moving from his skull down to his shoulders again and again. Ed sat there, thankful that the gag was gone and desperately trying to think of a way to escape. She was so careful about letting him move around now, especially since the chimera. Ed wished he had used his blood to draw a circle, but now it was too late, the only time he was allowed to move was when she was around.

Her fingers moved through his hair, teasing his scalp as her hot breath caressed the back of his neck. She hummed as she ran her fingers through his hair. Ed hated it; it was like he was a pet or something. His eyes widened at the thought. She called the chimeras 'Pets', what if she was planning on making HIM a chimera. Ed shivered in fear at the thought of having his body transformed in such a way.

"Mommy is so jealous of her Marcus' beautiful hair," she whispered as she rubbed her cheek against his hair and back. Ed flinched and the woman cooed as she rubbed his shoulders, one hand playing over his metal automail port, the other up and down his arm. Ed began thinking of his brother as the woman stroked him; it made him ill to feel her touching him.

"Hmmm, interesting, 2361 Bronze Street, bought with unmarked gold by a Joshua Woodgrove," Roy stated and the two detectives were on his report.

"What?" Woodgrove cried, a familiar craziness that had been seen in another pair of gold eyes that the group knew all too well.

"Calm down, Angelina, calm down," VanBuren growled as her nails raked the wood of the table.

"Is he a relative?" Hawkeye asked and Woodgrove growled, not looking at anyone as she added deeper groves to the table than her sister did.

"Yes, he was our brother, he died years ago," she growled as she got up and stormed off, VanBuren was holding her son, looking away from the group. "This bastard went too far!" With that the detective was gone and the other turned to look at the report, still clinging to her son.

"She was close to him?" Maes asked and VanBuren nodded.

"You have to understand, she's the second eldest of seven children, Joshua was her senior by a year, they were the leaders, the strong ones. Joshua, Angelina, Thomas, and Daniel all joined the Military within three months of each other. Joshua and Angelina snuck to Central together, Joshua as a normal soldier and Angelina as a State Alchemist. They were close, they practically raised Genevieve, Daniel, Thomas, and me when Dad left for his trips and Mom was busy with Baby," VanBuren stated. "Angelina is very sensitive about Joshua."

"I'd think she'd be more sensitive about the ones she took care of," Hawkeye stated and VanBuren shook her head.

"You don't understand. Joshua died in Ishbal. Angelina begged him to desert, find a way out like she did, she just knew Ishbal was bad news, Joshua, Daniel, and Thomas didn't listen to her. When Joshua was killed, our mother blamed Angelina for not getting him out. I think Angelina took that to heart, the fact someone is using his name…it's a disgrace to the both of us, but I think it's another reminder to Angelina how she failed him, failed to save his life and failed to save his name," VanBuren sighed. "There are only three of us, Thomas, Angelina, and I. I think she feels a bit useless as of late."

The group was silent as VanBuren set her son down and sat down heavily.

"She shouldn't be so hard on herself, this is not an easy case," Maes stated and VanBuren shook her head.

"It's more her personal life's stress clashing with her professional life's stress, I haven't seen her march out of a room like that since Baby died," VanBuren stated, rubbing her temples.

"Baby?" Havoc asked and VanBuren smiled one of those smiles that was both happy and heartbroken.

"Our youngest brother. It went Joshua, Angelina, Thomas, Daniel, me, Genevieve, and then Baby. None of us really used his name in life, it seems like we love him less to start using it now. He had the same condition as Angelina's son, we called him Baby because the doctors told us he wouldn't live beyond being one. He was sixteen when he died, he showed those doctors what for," VanBuren smirked before sighing. "Angelina is very stressed, the anniversary of her son's birth marks several unpleasant family anniversaries for her. In three weeks it will be the anniversary of Daniel's suicide, then a week after that her divorce, and then the anniversary of our mother's death. She takes these anniversaries harder than I do."

"Why?" Al asked and the group all looked down.

"Al, she's alone, she was deserted by her husband, lost her son because of a genetic disorder she passed down to him, and from the looks of the office, she really doesn't have a lot of friends," Maes stated, looked at VanBuren, all playfulness gone.

"I have Jordan, he called to tell me he's crawling back tonight after work, I have Markie, and I was never as close to my brothers as I was to Genevieve," VanBuren sighed.

"How may I ask did they all die? If I'm not prying too much," Roy asked and VanBuren shook her head.

"Not at all, Joshua died in Ishbal, he wasn't an alchemist and he was slaughtered in one of the uprisings. They told us it was quick, he tripped and his neck was snapped when he was slammed into a building. Daniel also went to Ishbal, but he was a State Alchemist, he shot himself," she placed a finger under her jaw in a place Roy had considered once before. "His note said that he wasn't worthy of forgiveness for what he had done in Ishbal. Genevieve died in childbirth, both she and her daughter didn't make it, her husband had died weeks earlier, an accident in the steel mill, I heard it was quick. Finally, Baby died when we were all out of the house, ten years ago. Mother found his body and hid it, she had a mental breakdown." VanBuren looked at the door.

"Do you think Detective Woodgrove should be dismissed from this case?" Maes asked and VanBuren looked at him in horror.

"Oh no! This case has become Angelina's life. I can't imagine her doing anything else with this kind of passion. You have to understand, when Al…when that bastard left her two months after their son had died, Angelina went into a mental breakdown, a lot like our mother did after Baby died. I thought for sure Angelina would try to kill herself…like mother. I asked her to come to the station with me after the first body was found. She took over this case," VanBuren explained. "I think because all the victims, in a way, look like her son would have, if he had lived. No, I wouldn't remove Angelina from this case. I think it would break her completely without something like this to fuel her."

"Oh Marcus, Mommy is going to bring home your Daddy tonight, we'll be together again and soon the family will grow as it's supposed to," she smiled as she hugged Ed and all he wanted was to scream and escape. "So soon, I'll be whole again, no more void to fill, no more lonely nights. Soon…" Ed felt his stomach heave at the thought of spending his life down here, besides, how soon before she found someone else who looked like Marcus and she realized HE wasn't Marcus.

"Marcus? Aren't you excited?" there was a low growl and Ed smiled as best he could, which wasn't very good to say the least.

"Yes, very excited, I can't wait to see Daddy again," he cried with false joy that anyone should have been able to detect, but the woman smiled, hugging him again before attaching his wrist to the bed again.

"Mommy has a wonderful plan to bring him back home, but she must be clever or those military dogs will find out and the Mommy will have to kill them," she stated as she stroked his hair. "Now sleep, Marcus, when you wake up, Daddy will be back.

Woodgrove entered the room looking much more in order than when she left.

"I sent pit monkeys to look into the houses that were confirmed owned by people dead before the purchase date," she stated as she pulled out a bank form. "And I went to the bank to find out something rather interesting. All the gold used to pay for the Hollows property was unmarked bars. We know our friend is an alchemist, so I've asked the quarry if anyone's been buying the crap lead they dig out with the marble. They'll let me know within the week." The group watched her as she stood there and set the bank statement down.

"Are you alright, Detective Woodgrove?" Al asked and the woman smiled at him.

"I'm better now, I'm very tired and I will be heading home early tonight, I'm useless with this little sleep," she sighed as she stretched and pulled the autopsy report out from under another pile of papers. "However, I still want to cover this before heading out and I mean all of us are heading out for the night. The chimera was formed using a Groveton Transmutation, for those of you who don't know that's the creation of two animals, one that will die immediately and one that will live on indefinitely. Not immortal, but with a lifespan longer than conventional chimeras."

"Groveton…didn't your father develop that method?" Armstrong asked and the two detectives nodded.

"Father hated his work for the State, but he developed the Groveton Transmutation, best method for chimera creation, Tucker didn't believe in it, but it was a classified method, very few people would have access to it or even know it," Woodgrove stated and Roy stared at her. "I have no doubt it was once a human, the brain was exactly human, the pelvic bone was as well, there was a human appendix as well as external genitalia. The shape of the skull was closer to a hound or wolf, but the digestive tract was a mix."

"So, our suspect is a parent between thirty and fifty, State Alchemist, probably with a dead child, and with a good knowledge of the area," VanBuren stated.

"Don't forget, living alone without much company," Woodgrove added, chewing absently on her thumbnail. "Should I be concerned that I match this profile a little too much?" The military group stared at her, wondering how the woman knew what was on their minds.

"Angelina, there's no way…" VanBuren stated as Woodgrove growled.

"I feel like I'm being set up and I don't like this," the detective snarled and then looked down. "I'm too tired for this. I need at good night's sleep before I become too paranoid."

"You wouldn't mind some company on the way home would you?" Roy asked and Woodgrove looked at him, it was a cold, calculating look the two shared. A person could think it spoke.

'I know what you're up to and I don't like it' feeling went through the two. Hawkeye's hand moved to her gun while VanBuren's hand disappeared into her pocket. The two continued their stare down and for a moment it almost looked like the two were about to go for the other's throat like wild dogs.

"I've got nothing to hide Colonel Mustang," Woodgrove stated and the Colonel tilted his head.

"Prove it," he shot back.

"Walk me home then with whomever else you choose, I don't care if you feel the need to bring everyone of your men against me," she challenged and Roy felt the ego prod. She was calling him a coward.

"Maes, Havoc, help me escort the Detective home," he ordered and the woman stood up and led the way out, followed by the three military men.

"What about us, sir?" Hawkeye asked and Roy looked at her.

"I'll see you at the inn," he replied and the group left.

Ed opened his eyes as soon as the door opened and there was the faint outline of a person at the doorway.

"So, you're the replacement," a strangled voice gurgled and Ed felt horror building in his heart as he realized the person wasn't quite human. Ed tried to cry out behind the gag but it was useless. "I pity you, like all the others."

The outline didn't move but Ed slowly made out the shape of extra limbs emerging from the figure's back.

"She did this to me, you know," the figure choked again. "Used my pet hawk, it had lost a wing, and used my cat. She didn't want him to take me with him when he left her. She kicked him out, then she forced me into this body, making sure that there was no way I could escape her without becoming a pet for the State." Ed felt ill as he realized who he was talking to.

"She went mad of course, realizing what she did to me, hid me away much like you are, chained me up. I was so confused, why would she do it to me, her baby? Daddy never knew the truth, he accepted it, and then he 'left' her. Of course…he didn't really get that far. She killed him and showed me his body, just so I couldn't hope for a rescue," the figure stated and Ed felt the urge to puke. "Mommy couldn't accept what she had done to 'her Marcus', so she starting thinking I escaped her, forgetting what she really did. She pretends well enough, faking her sanity at wherever the hell she works now. But she's not, she's not sane at all." Ed screamed as the figure moved towards him and then stopped, he could make out the extra legs that hung uselessly from his hips, the wing that was deformed on his back, and the long tail that seemed to bend in unnatural angles.

"I would help you, but she put out my eyes," he stated and Ed realized why he couldn't see the classic chimera glow. "They were all that still looked like me, those gold eyes. She has them still, in a jar, with the heads of the others. I'm sorry, I pity you and the one she's after now." Ed passed out as the figure turned, the profile was so very not human.

"Where do you live?" Maes asked and Woodgrove made a noise before leading them on, she hadn't spoken since she bid her sister goodnight.

"Woodgrove, we are not going to take any risks, you match the profile too well," Roy stated and there was a glare worthy of the missing State Alchemist. It only made Roy even more furious. "You are trying my patience."

"Roy, leave her alone," Maes stated as the woman stopped and looked around.

"Did you hear that?" she asked as she turned to looked at them, the childish anger was gone and all that was left was caution. "It came from back there." The military men quickly had out their guns and moved toward the dark alley. Woodgrove appeared next to Roy, her shoulder bumping his as she started to pull back.

"Come out with your hands up," Havoc cried as the three men stared down the alley in shock.

"I don't think so, Military Dogs," Woodgrove's voice stated back and there was a flash of blinding alchemic light.

Ed woke up as the door was opened and the woman entered, a naked body draped over her shoulder, Ed couldn't see the man's face, but he knew without knowing it was one of his friends/coworkers. The woman panted as she placed the naked man on the bed, still blocking his face from Ed's view as she attached the chains.

"Finally, Daddy's home," she whispered in joy as she pulled another gag out of her pocket, Ed listened to her attach it and she stepped back before smiling at Ed. "Marcus, aren't you thrilled, Daddy's finally home!" Ed looked over and his eyes widened as he stared at Gene Havoc's unconscious body on the bed.

AN: Sorry it took so long to get this done, I was really focusing on the Central group and the police part of this chapter and had very little creativity with the Ed pieces, I wanted to end with Ed and I wanted Ed to meet the real Marcus, but other than that...I was stumped, sorry if the Ed bits aren't up to my normal par. As always tell me what you think.


	6. Broken Trust

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA but I do own this story. Hahaha.

6: Broken Trust

~*~

Ed stared at Havoc, Havoc stared at Ed. In his mind, Ed was making up a conversation between them.

"Hey, Shorty, what have you been up to?" Havoc would ask.

"Don't call me Shorty! Not much, been babied by that psycho for the past few days," Ed would reply.

"Oh, we've all been worried. You okay, except for the being chained up without your arm and leg, I mean?" Havoc would ask. Ed would shrug and then reply.

"Yea, no serious damage, but this gal's really nuts, she's thinks we're her dead husband and…" Ed's mental conversation with Havoc was interrupted as the woman appeared and moved towards Havoc with a bright, happy smile. Ed noticed the way Havoc was staring at the woman, like he knew her or something.

"Oh, Alexander, finally, after all these years, you've come back," the woman fell on him and Ed suppressed a chuckle at the look on Havoc's face. Ed slowly realized that he wasn't as frightened now that there was a familiar face around, even if that familiar face was also chained down and ball-gagged. "Mommy has missed her Daddy and Marcus so much." Havoc's eyes widened as he looked down at the woman and then at Ed. Ed nodded, mentally screaming at Havoc to play along.

"Have you missed Mommy, Daddy?" the woman asked and Havoc looked at Ed nodding wildly before he nodded slowly. "Oh, Alexander!" The woman was hugging Havoc and the panicking soldier was staring at the woman.

"Mommy will go make dinner for her boys right now!" she cried before running out the door, locking it behind her.

Havoc stared at Ed, Ed stared at Havoc, in their minds, they were both screaming at the other for answers.

Roy woke up looking at the white of a hospital room, next to him Maes was groaning as he came to.

"Glad to see you're awake," a stern, but familiar voice stated, not really sounding that 'glad' at all. "Colonel, you and the Lieutenant Colonel might want to explain a few things to me right now before I arrest you." With that Roy's eyes focused on VanBuren, flanked by several officers, none of whom, looked happy to see the two military officers.

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked and the woman walked over to him, he took note that VanBuren was in a uniform.

"What happened in the alley while walking Detective Woodgrove home?" Detective VanBuren asked and Roy looked at her before he remembered.

"There was a person in the alley, Woodgrove shouted something at us when we ordered the person to exit the alley, then there was a blast of alchemic light, now I'm here," Roy snapped and VanBuren stared at him.

"Are you certain Woodgrove shouted at you?" she asked and Roy nodded. "Then be kind enough to explain why she was found unconscious with you and the Lieutenant Colonel." Roy's eyes widened and he looked to his other side to see Woodgrove still unconscious, in the bed to his left.

The woman was straddling Havoc's waist, her breasts pushed into his neck as she undid the ball gag and Havoc was about to yell at her when Ed began shaking his head frantically. Havoc played along.

"Is that better, Alexander?" the woman asked and Havoc nodded.

"Loads," he whispered and the woman looked at him.

"You can call me Angie, I don't mind that anymore," she whispered and Havoc gave her that stare again. "I missed you a lot, Alexander." With that the woman lowered her head, slowly covering Havoc's mouth with her own.

At this point, Havoc's body caught up with the fact that a beautiful, shapely woman was straddling him and kissing him. Ed closed his eyes and turned away, but he could still hear, dear God, he could still hear.

"Please…don't…" Havoc whispered and there was a surprisingly girlish giggle.

"Alexander, you haven't changed a bit, still so flustered that your body reacts like everybody else's," she whispered. Then to Ed's complete horror there was a groan from Havoc and a wet suckling noise. Ed kept his eyes shut and head turned away, he had a good idea what was happening to Havoc and he didn't want to see his friend in such a helpless position.

"N-n-n-no….please…" there were more groans pulled from Havoc's throat and Ed wanted to cover his ears, he buried one into his shoulder, but there was nothing to cover the other one so the suckling kept going on and the grunts and groans continued.

"Gah!" Havoc cried out and then came a quiet lapping sound before Havoc groaned.

"Just the same, no different, you taste just the same," she whispered and Ed looked over to see Havoc's face turned away, the scarlet hue of embarrassment clung to his cheeks. "Here, let me feed you."

"I'm not hungry, thank you," Havoc muttered and there was a growl and his eyes caught Ed's before she growled.

"Already you want to dismiss me, Alexander? You did that once and look where it got you. Now you're mine again and I won't let you dismiss me. You'll eat now!" she screamed and Ed watched in horror as she racked Havoc's chest with her nails. Havoc screamed as she ripped at him with her nails again and again. Finally, Ed began to scream too and the woman stopped, staring at Ed as if she'd never seen him before.

"Marcus?" she asked, as if confused. "I…I need to leave." With that the woman left the room thrusting Havoc and Ed into the darkness.

Woodgrove slept fitfully, beads of sweat moving down her forehead as her head tossed back and forth. Pained moans emerged from the woman's throat, making her sound young and weak.

Roy watched her troubled rest and felt pity for her, she was alone, her sister had left soon after taking Maes and his formal statements. VanBuren had not looked happy, Woodgrove's nightmare started soon after the officers had left.

"Do you think she took Havoc and then rushed back to knock herself unconscious?" Maes asked as he looked at the dreaming woman.

"Maybe," Roy muttered as the woman began to groan more.

"Not my baby….don't take him….not my baby boy…" the words were moaned and sobbed, tears slipping out from under her closed lids. Her eyes were moving frantically. "No…bab…." Her body began to shake and Roy felt a bit disturbed, as if he shouldn't be watching her.

Gold eyes suddenly opened and her body shot up, the open back of her hospital gown displaying a back that was as pale as the moon. Red brown hair moved behind her like silk caught in the wind and her face was a mask of pure pain.

"Don't take my baby from me, you son of a bitch!" she screamed arms flailing in front of her as if trying to defend herself from some attack. She screamed again, gold  
vanishing behind black eyelashes. Her body hit the bed and her eyes opened slowly, tears moving down her cheeks, an angry flush covering the tops of her cheeks and nose, and her gold eyes shone like fire with the red in her eyes. She lay there as if she was in a daze before she sat up, shaking her head as she looked at him and Maes in complete shock at their presence and her surroundings. She reached down and ripped the IV from her arm before getting up, holding the back of her gown together as she staggered over to the closet, opening it to display their clothing.

"What are you doing, Angelina?" Maes asked and the woman looked at them, fear was written all over her face.

"I can't stay here," she hissed and Roy stated to get up when Hawkeye and VanBuren entered the room.

"Angelina, you need to get back into bed," VanBuren ordered and Woodgrove shook her head.

"I won't stay here, Catherine, you know I won't," Woodgrove actually growled and there was a look that Roy recognized flashing in those golden eyes.

"You don't have a choice, Angelina, you're blood tests came back," VanBuren stated and Hawkeye had her gun on Woodgrove. Woodgrove looked unhappy as she stood there, one hand in the closet, the other holding her gown shut.

"When did you stop taking the medication, Angelina?" VanBuren demanded and Woodgrove glared at her sister.

The door opened and Ed stared to see the horror he had been spared from originally. There in the doorway were three chimeras, each one more horrific than the last and each one with that same intelligence in its eyes as the Nina-Alexander. Slowly they limped in. The first one was very similar to the Nina-Alexander, probably a dog-human combination, however, he was four times larger, completely a sandy color, and both his left arm and leg were fully canine. The second one was hobbling along carrying a tray of food, it was more of a squirrel or rodent, one fully animal leg, causing it to limp along, its long, hairless tail trailing behind it. The next one had to be a human-goat chimera, one foreleg completely goat. Ed watched as the last chimera entered, the cloth over his eyes, above that monstrous beak-mouth, it was terrifying. He stood upright like a human, but the feet coming out from under his pant were monstrous, one more human than the other, but both horrible bird feet with tiger talons. Ed felt ill, of the four, this one wore clothing, the sleeve covering his right arm while his left…hand…held the light.

"She…not…back….we…feed," the dog-chimera stated, his fangs clearly in the way and his tongue, far too wide for normal speech. Ed swallowed his fear as he stared at the creatures as they stumbled around, so gangly as if some nightmare brought to flesh. Ed looked at Havoc and the poor officer looked ready to piss himself.

"Excuse their voices, they haven't had as much time to work on talking as I have, she kept their jaws wired shut for a long time, they're still not allowed to speak around her," the real Marcus stated as he rested against the wall.

"Here," the goat-chimera stated, pulling a stool to the Marcus-chimera, who found it with his now lantern free hand before sitting down.

"Thank you," he stated as he patted the goat-chimera's head, between the two horns.

"No scream?" the rodent-chimera asked Ed and he nodded. The gag was removed and so was Havocs as he stared at them.

"What's going on Havoc?" Ed asked and Havoc stared at the chimeras for a moment as they sat back. "Havoc! Answer me!" It wasn't shouted but it wasn't spoken. Havoc stared at Ed before shaking his head and nodding to himself.

"We came to Laketon the day after you vanished. There's been a serial kidnapper and murderer prowling after young men ages thirteen to eighteen with golden to light brown eyes and blondish hair, she'll take any color hair and dye it," Havoc stated and then looked at the chimeras. "At that point only five of the nine victims had been found, all decapitated, I'm guessing I know what happened to the other four. But…who's the last chimera?" The Marcus-chimera stood up and bowed toward Havoc.

"My name is Marcus, that woman was once my mother, she's gone insane since," he stated and then looked towards where Ed was. "She sees young men near my age when she did this…" he let the sleeve pass over his body. "…and she thinks I found a way to escape her. She blinded me, made me a chimera, murdered my father, and has gone mad with guilt. Now she thinks you and the boy are my father and me."

"This is bad," Ed groaned and the rodent-chimera sat on the edge of the bed.

"Look…like we…used to," he stated as he held up a fork.

"Is there anyway you could get us out of here?" Havoc cried and Ed looked at the chimeras.

"These three are really scared of her, not that I blame them, they won't help and Marcus can't," Ed stated and the Marcus-chimera nodded sadly.

"I wasn't a bad alchemist, but without my eyes, I could easily kill you with my alchemy, I'm sorry," he whispered and Ed stared at the rodent.

"Let…feed…" it stated and Ed let it feed him. There had to be a way out of this. His mind was racing as he tried to find a way out of this.

Woodgrove and VanBuren stared at each other, it was a stand off like no other Roy had ever witnessed. With her dark hair down, Woodgrove looked wild, the wave in her hair causing it to frame her face.

"Angelina, you know you shouldn't have stopped taking your medication," VanBuren stated and Woodgrove looked at her.

"Catherine, I won't continue trying to pretend my family never existed, I won't be a zombie to medication, and I won't stop till I solve this case," Woodgrove stated and then Roy noticed her posture changing. "Don't you trust me anymore, Little Sister?" VanBuren's face hardened.

"Ms. Woodgrove, you will not distract me by reminding me of our relation. Right now you are a potential suspect, the profile fits you, you are indicated by two witnesses, and you are no longer taking your medication," and then two guns were pointed at the detective made suspect.

"Don't point that thing at me, you know better than to put me in this situation, Mrs. VanBuren," Woodgrove growled and Roy wanted his gloves desperately.

"Don't do anything stupid, Ms. Woodgrove," VanBuren stated and Woodgrove smiled, Roy couldn't help but stare, she almost seemed happy. With her hair down and her face in such a lovely expression, she looked no more than twenty, as if the danger of the situation was rejuvenating.

"Stupid is completely relative," Woodgrove stated and then the wall exploded forward, creating a wall between Woodgrove and the rest of the room. The telltale sound of a window breaking quickly followed and Roy looked over his shoulder out the window beside his bed. There, in what was more likely than not a transfigured hospital gown, was Woodgrove running towards the heart of the city.

"Shit!" VanBuren cried as she stared out the window.

"Dectective, what should we do?" one of the officers asked and VanBuren sighed.

"Are Thompson and Clive at her home?" she asked as she gripped the windowsill with white knuckles.

"Yes ma'am, they've got the tranquilizer guns," the officer stated and VanBuren sighed.

"Let them know she's on the loose, but I doubt they'll see her," VanBuren muttered.

"Why not?" the officer asked and VanBuren gripped the windowsill with white knuckles.

"Because, while she's stupid enough to run from us, she is not stupid enough to go home now," VanBuren sighed.

"So what's your plan now?" Roy asked and VanBuren turned.

"We start a search," she sighed. "This is going to be like trying to hunt a blood hound that's been on ten times more hunts than you."

The sound of someone skidding down the stairs followed with the harsh sounds of gasping breath.

"Get out of here, you beasts!" the woman screamed as she appeared at the doorway. Her disheveled appearance barely noticed compared to the intense fear and rage burning in her gold-brown eyes. Ed felt his fear building as the chimeras raced out of the room, even the Marcus-chimera moved with such agility that Ed was shocked the blinded creature was so swift.

"Mommy won't lose you to that traitor. How dare she? She stared at me like I was a freak!" the woman snarled as she made fists. She quickly gagged Havoc and Ed quickly shot his question.

"Who Mommy?" he asked before the gag was shoved in his mouth and the woman froze, her eyes on him before they softened.

"The Traitor, one of many. They left me, forgot me, allowed me to suffer in my loneliness," she whispered as she stroked Ed's cheek. "She thinks she can take me back and take you and Daddy from me. She will prove to be fatally wrong on that." The woman smiled as she hugged Ed and quickly walked away, leaving Ed and Havoc in darkness again.

Roy and Maes were walking down the street behind VanBuren, Hawkeye and several officers, VanBuren was in deep conversation with Armstrong.

"Detective, why are we going to Detec…" VanBuren glared at the much larger Armstrong and the blond man actually stuttered before resuming. "Miss Woodgrove's apartment?"

"She stopped taking her medications, meaning there's more going on with her than I originally thought," VanBuren stated as they reached an old building. "Her home is the starting point to figure out where she's gone." They approached a building surrounded by police and were allowed to enter right away.

"Detective, we've found a room that's been securely locked, we thought you should be the first in it," an officer stated.

The door was thick and heavy set, there was an alchemic symbol that none of the State Alchemists recognized carved in it.

"Well, let's see what we've got here," Armstrong stated and the group watched as he demolished the door. They gasped as they saw what was staring back at them.

AN: Sorry this took so long getting out, I've been busy, however, I hope to have the next chapter up within three days.


	7. Hunter or Hunted

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA if I did then Ed would be 18 and perfectly legal, but since I don't I'll just have to rape Roy.

7: Hunter or Hunted

~*~

Ed stared at the woman as she pulled the pieces of metal together into a large pile. She pulled out a piece of paper and sat there for a moment.

"Carry the three, still missing several pounds," she whispered before marching out of the room again.

Havoc grunted and he looked at Ed as if asking what the hell was going on. Ed shrugged and the woman piled a few more pieces of metal on the floor before she began to draw a large transmutation circle.

"Must match that big one…" she muttered as she drew more and then looked at something on the paper. "Yes, like that…"

Ed watched her, dread building in his heart.

"Don't shoot!" VanBuren cried, ripping Hawkeye's gun out of her hand and the group stared at the shining eyes of the chimera as it rocked back and forth in mid pounce. "Dear God, it's only a rocking horse…er…chimera." The group stared at the part horse, part lion, part serpent as it moved back and forth on its rockers.

"A child's toy?" Hawkeye muttered and the lights were turned on in the room. It was perfectly clean as if the child was expected to come back at any time to a room that Mommy had recently cleaned. The scent of lavender was strong, but not musty like a room with several locks on the door should be.

"This was his room," VanBuren stated and the group stood in the doorway of the almost sacred room.

There in the corner was a bed, the comforter was covered with embroidered chimeras and transmutation circles, all of the circles were nonsense though, nothing but pretty designs. On the bed was a stuffed chimera, part dog and part dragon.

"He loved her alchemy. He thought she was amazing and she was flattered, gave him everything he wanted. He wanted something that reminded him of her alchemy and she gave in. She gave him chimeras," VanBuren stated and the group spread out in the room. There by the bed was a crutch, so small and tiny Maes felt his heart break. By the window there were several pictures of a much younger, much happier Woodgrove, in her arms a baby waved his only arm, in other shots she performed alchemy as the child laughed.

In the back of his head, Roy could imagine the high pitched, joyful squeals of laughter and the softer, fuller laugh of Woodgrove. Armstrong opened the drawers to smell clean clothes, not the musty, dust ridden scent of clothes left to decay in a drawer. On the ceiling stairs between transmutation circles and behind clouds.

"She put a lot of work into this room," Hawkeye commented as she inspected the artwork on the walls, a stick figure with dark hair stood before an explosion of white blue smudges.

"It's all she has left," VanBuren explained as she picked up a picture and glared at it.

"Who's that?" Maes asked as he stared at Woodgrove as she sat with the little boy on her lap, in the lap of a tall, blond man with a striking resemblance to the missing Havoc.

"That was her husband," VanBuren stated as she set the picture down and looked in the closet while an officer looked under the bed.

"I thought she went for dark haired men," Maes stated casually.

"Why do you think she does that now? She sees fair men as a reminder, our brothers were fair and they died, leaving her, our father was fair, he died, leaving her, her son was fair, he died, leaving her, and her husband was fair, he walked out, leaving her," VanBuren stated as she hit the back of the closet walls and floor. "She has one night flings with dark men so that they can't reminder her of the men who hurt her and she doesn't have to get attached."

"One question, Detective," Roy stated as he held up the picture of the little boy, one leg and one arm stumps. "Why didn't Woodgrove have automail attached?" VanBuren stared at him before shaking her head.

"Quite simple really, Colonel, she wanted him to grow. Attaching automail at too early of an age and the child's growth would be stunted. She has the money stored in the bank, three years ago she told me she had saved enough to buy him both an arm and a leg. I asked her why she was still saving it and she told me. 'I have nothing else to do with my money'," VanBuren stated. "There's nothing in here. Continue to the rest of the apartment." Slowly the group left and Maes stared at the picture of Woodgrove, her husband, and her son. The woman looked completely different in the picture, as if it had been another lifetime all together.

The woman stood before the pile of metal before placing her hands over the pile and the light flashed. Ed couldn't contain the scream as he saw the exact replica of Al's armor. He began to thrash and suddenly the woman was over him and Ed froze. She was going to turn him into a chimera, he closed his eyes, fighting the tears.

Instead of having his body forced into some unnatural shape he heard the woman cooing, stroking his hair and cheeks.

"It's okay Marcus, it's okay, Mommy's here. It's only a puppet, Mommy wouldn't let that mean one take you away," she whispered as she cuddled his head against her breasts. "Mommy will take care of you, don't you worry about it, Marcus, they will never take you from me again." Ed stared over her shoulder at the empty armor that resembled Al's armor perfectly.

"Mommy will trick them using her puppet, don't you worry, Mommy will never relinquish her family again," the last part was growled as she held Ed almost to a choking point before she let go and began to inspect the armor.  
Ed suddenly had a flash of Majhal and his Karin dolls. Who would she use to animate the Al armor? Ed looked at Havoc, no, she wouldn't use them, who else would have to suffer because of this woman's madness.

Roy looked at the pictures in the box, he had found it in Woodgrove's closet. There was a picture of her and three men in uniforms, she had an arm wrapped around the tallest man's neck and she was messing up his hair. The other two were pulling on each other's ears.

Roy smirked, it was rather cute, the four siblings goofing off for the camera. The next picture was of the three holding Woodgrove down as they exposed her tattoo. She was staring at the picture taker with a look of guilt that seemed more appropriate on a child's face. The tallest was holding her while the other two were pointing at the tattoo.

The next picture was of her and the blond man, she was sitting on his lap obviously flirting with him as the blush on his cheeks suggested. Woodgrove was wearing a tiny little skirt, exposing legs that Roy could only dream about some nights. Her tight shirt and styled hair made her beautiful in the picture.

Roy flipped through many more pictures before a wedding photo fell to the floor, her gown was rather conservative for the wild woman and he stared at the two. She held her bouquet as she looked lovingly at her husband to be.

He couldn't stop, Roy knew it was an invasion of Woodgrove's privacy but he wanted to know this mad woman that kidnapped and murdered boys that reminded her of her lost son. Then came a picture of her asleep, she was curled up on a bed, the sheet wrapped around her legs, falling down the swell of her belly, the silky, girly thing she was wearing did little to hide the enormous stomach under it. Her face was positively glowing as she lay in her semi-fetal position, that long hair spread over her pillow. Roy stared, how could this fertile goddess asleep on her bed in the last weeks of her pregnancy turn into a lunatic? It blew his mind.

"She was meant for motherhood," Hawkeye stated and Roy jumped in shock, spilling the content of the box across the floor. He looked at his second in command and wondered if she did such things on purpose.

"She certainly looked lovely in that picture," he stated as he began to pick up photographs, stopping as he looked at the photo on top.

Several women and men were gathered around the entrance to a mausoleum, Woodgrove was younger, standing beside her sisters and two of her brothers. What caught his eye was that all the other family members were crying, Woodgrove was glaring, her eyes were aimed several people over, to a woman completely shrouded in black veils. The light in Woodgrove's eyes was undeniably hate, Roy had seen that look directed at himself enough times to know it.

"Any luck in here?" VanBuren asked and Roy walked over and handed her the picture.

"Who is that woman?" he asked, pointing at the veiled figure. VanBuren stared at if for a moment.

"That has to be our mother," she stated and Roy stared at the picture.

"When was this?" he asked. "Did Woodgrove have a bad relationship with your mother?"

"That was our baby brother's funeral, right after our father left our mother," she said, looking at Roy with a sharp glance. "Angelina blamed our mother for chasing our father away, she was always a Daddy's girl, Genevieve and I were closer to our mother. Why?" Roy looked at the picture.

"Where's your mother now?" he asked and VanBuren shook her head.

"She died over ten years ago, freak boating accident on the lake, a ten foot gator was upturning boats, when we found Mother's boat soaked in blood, we were pretty sure about what happened," VanBuren stated and Roy sighed.

"What about the graves?" Hawkeye asked. "Do you have a family plot?" VanBuren's eyes widened and she nodded.

"We do, the family crypt, let's go!" with that the pictures lay strewn on the floor, various stages of Woodgrove's life, exposed to the room and world.

The rodent chimera screamed as the woman tightened the ropes securing it to the chair, its inhuman voice filled with fear and agony. Ed could feel the tears in his eyes as the woman finished knotting the ropes, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Bad Pet, you must do as I say, or I will do to you what I did to the other Bad Pet. Only I will not kill you first," she growled and all occupants of the room froze, the three other chimeras tied to the far wall didn't move, Havoc didn't move, and Ed sure as Hell didn't more. The thought of being turned into a sack of flesh with no way to breath and no where to run caused Ed's bladder to release and the sound of urine hitting the bedpan was enough for the woman to snap back to work.

She drew the circle on the floor, muttering to herself as she erased it and started over again.

"Yes, like that. No…bigger. Yes, with a curve there, yes." Ed closed his eyes so he didn't have to see what he knew was going to happen. He whimpered behind his gag as she happily cried out. "Ready."

Ed couldn't stop his eyes from opening, from focusing on the woman as she pushed the Al armor into the center of the circle across from the chimera.

"Now, to give the puppet life," she hissed and then the light filled the room and all the others in the room screamed.

"This place is huge!" Maes declared and the echo moved down and back through the underground crypt. The rest of the group glared at him and Maes smiled.

"Father made this for the family," VanBuren stated and the group watched as she passed several sarcophaguses. "He wanted his children and grandchildren buried here."

"Well, find Angelina's," Roy ordered and VanBuren stopped, the group surrounded her. The sarcophagus marked 'Angelina Woodgrove' was open, the interior exposed an empty box and on the box was a letter marked 'Hughes'. The group looked at Maes and he shrugged as he walked over and opened the envelope. He pulled the letter out and read it, his carefree expression becoming completely serious in three seconds. He folded the letter up and tucked it in his jacket.

"We should go visit your brother's home in the Hollows," he stated. "She says she found something there that you might want to see."

Ed stared at the armor as it stood up and an inhuman howl escaped it.

"What have you done to me?" it screeched and the woman placed a hand up, Ed noticed the tattoo on the back of her hand.

"I gave you a metal body, unless you wish me to make it a toilet you will obey me," she ordered and the armor froze. "You will destroy and replace that stupid piece of junk following those Traitors. You will lead them one by one to me so that I can make them pay for the wrongs they've done me. Do you understand?" Ed felt his heart pound. It was going after Al, it was going after his baby brother! Ed began to thrash until he heard Havoc cry out and he looked at Havoc shaking his head. Slowly, Ed calmed down, it wasn't the time for freaking out, he had to think, he had to find a way out of this.

"I'll do what you ask," the armor spoke as it looked at the dead chimera body that was once its.

"Take that out and dump it, then do as you were ordered," the woman snapped and Ed watched the Al imitation pick up the chair and rodent-chimera corpse, stomp out the door. The woman released the other chimeras and they quickly scurried away. The Marcus-chimera stood in the doorway, one ear cocked toward the woman before leaving.

"Hush, Alexander, hush Marcus, Mommy will make sure those vile creatures are destroyed. You'll never have to fear them finding you again," she cooed before leaving Havoc and Ed in the darkness again.

They stood in the basement of the house under Joshua Woodgrove's name, in the corner was a trunk filled with Havoc's clothing and all the things on him when he was taken. On the wall was a message written in the alchemic light Woodgrove had used to find the house with Ed's things in it.

'You really think I'm doing this don't you, Cathrine. Rinny, Rinny, Rinny, you never were that close to me were you? I wouldn't pull shit like this, even when I was in denial about everything. I didn't do this, I'm stating it again just so you know. I would never do this to a child, especially not a child that looked like him. You can deny it all you want but I assure you of my innocence.

'I want you to know that I'm going to find Edward Elric and I'm going to take down the one who did it. I have a suspect and I will be keeping tabs on you, I wasn't Chimera Squadron because I could talk a priest out of his underwear. I may not have acted like it when I had someone calling me "Mommy", but I am still the Midnight Alchemist and I won't let this case go!'

The group watched as the message slowly faded away and Roy stared at it for a second.

"It reacted to her, she was waiting for us," he hissed and the group rushed out looking around.

"It's too late, she's probably a safe distance now," Armstrong grumbled and the group sighed.

"Clever girl," Maes stated. "Well, I'm beat, I've got to head back to the hotel and call Glacier and my little Elysia! Hey, have I shown you the new pictures yet, Roy?" The usual goofball Maes was back and Roy cursed his luck. The group headed back to the station, specifically to avoid the slideshow and Maes sighed before walking down a few streets and leaning against a wall besides a dark alleyway.

"Thank you," she whispered in the darkness and Maes didn't look at her as he rested, placing his hands behind his head.

"I'm going out on a limb for you," he stated and there was a shuffling sound.

"I know, but you're the only one I trust, Catherine doesn't know what it's like, you don't know how much you remind me of how I was," she whispered and Maes pulled out the envelop and looked at the picture.

"This wasn't very flattering," he stated and there was a coughing sound that resembled and stifled laugh.

"Wasn't meant to be, I needed you to understand," she replied and Maes nodded.

"What do you want from me?" he asked and she began to talk, his eyes widened a few times as she hissed at him from the darkness of the alleyway. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I wish I was, no one believed me then, but I was certain, now I want to prove it. Half the reason I was on those damned drugs was because of it. I know I'm right Maes, I know I am. I never took that damn medication except the days I knew I was having blood drawn. Help me, I'm begging you," she whispered and Maes held the picture between his fingers, beneath his arm, someone on the street wouldn't notice it slipping into the alley's darkness.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked and she sighed.

"Just give me time, I'll do the hard work, I just need time to do it in," she whispered staring at the picture of the woman in the hospital, the child covered in tubes and bandages. Her eyes haunted with the look of someone dying with their child. "If I can get the trap set, I can save him."

"Alright, I'll do what I can," he sighed and there was a brush of fingers against his arm.

"Thank you again, Maes," she whispered and there was a crackling of alchemy but not a bit of light. Maes turned and looked down the dead end alleyway and sighed.

"You better be right about this, Woodgrove," he sighed before heading back to the hotel to call his wife and daughter, he couldn't imagine a life without them, it would be easier to die himself than to live without them.

AN: Ow...ow..ow..ow, oh and can I say OW?! You people are harsh with your spelling and mistake attacks. How many of my reviews have been to tell me I screwed up Woodgrove with Grovewood or I made some obsure mistake. I'm working without a beta here people, cut a girl some slack, this is like walking a tightrope without a net, you people are like spikes underneath the tight rope. Not that I'm offending, it means you're really reading and paying attention. For all further Editors-to-be, if I make a mistake, E-mail me, don't get me all excited about another review when you're actually giving critisim, it gives me false hope. Anyway, it's Woodgrove, not Grovewood, I'm not going back to fix it because...well, I'm lazy and you all are smart enough to figure out what I mean. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review and tell me how horrible I am to Ed and Havoc for barely mentioning them in this chapter.


	8. Behind Your Back

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but if I did there would be more nudity on Roy's part.

~*~

8 – Behind Your Back

Al was not happy, he had been told to wait in his room for the past three days as the Colonel and the others searched for his brother, it was too much for the metal encased soul to take and he made up his mind.

While a very peaceful and kind person, Al was more than a force to be reckoned with, he had fought off Number 66, he had beaten Major Armstrong with some help from Ed, he wasn't as weak as the others thought he was. Laketon was almost a city, but there were still things about it that were old fashioned, small town characteristics. Al knew all about small towns and he was going to use that knowledge to find his brother.

Al snuck out soon after the others left to help search for Ed and Woodgrove. He knew he should start at Woodgrove's apartment, however, he didn't want to risk running into any police officers, so the next choice was the cemetery, it would be nice and quiet, he could be alone to think about his options there. Then it hit him, the town hall would have a ton on information of Woodgrove and her family. Al began to walk with a bit of determination in his step.

Ed struggled with his chain, trying desperately to escape. He had to save Al, no one else would notice the change until it was too late, and then…then Al would be gone, the others would be dead, and he would be trapped down here until the woman found someone else that looked like the old Marcus and then he'd be a chimera!

"You shouldn't struggle so much," the Marcus-chimera stated in the darkness of the cell and Ed heard Havoc move on his bed. "I'm going to free your mouths, don't scream please." Slowly malformed hands removed the gag and Ed coughed a few times before hearing Havoc cough.

"Can you get the chains?" Havoc asked and there was a sigh.

"Once upon a time I could have. I had a great talent for alchemy, but without my eyes, I wouldn't be certain the circle wouldn't harm you. I'm not quite used to my hands," the Marcus-chimera said with a note of sorrow in his voice.

"Well, it's the thought that counts," Ed sighed in disappointment. "Where is she?"

"Mother went out with the armored one, she really wants to kill your friend and use her armor to replace him. She's scared of men in armor, which is why she transmuted that one's soul into the armor instead of making him bigger to fit in it," Marcus-chimera stated and Ed felt the foot of his bed sink under the weight.

"Why aren't the others down here with you?" Havoc asked.

"They fear Mother, they have since she made them," Marcus-chimera said. "She's not exactly the nicest person to chimeras."

"She's not a nice person anyway," Ed snapped and there was a shifting of the Marcus-chimera.

"Once upon a time she was, then things went bad when I got sick and Father wanted me to go to Central, but Mother was set against it, when I got worse Father tried to take me away. That's when Mother changed into this," the Marcus-chimera confessed. "She gave up her life for me, put me before all the others. I loved her once, part of me still does even after all she's done. However, I won't ignore her faults, if I was whole I would have stopped her long before it got this bad."

Al looked at the staring clerk, he sighed as a bead of sweat moved down his brow.

"Excuse me," he stated and the clerk jerked before nodding.

"How may I help you?" he asked and Al wondered what it was about his armor that made so many people act weird.

"I'd like to get all the information I could on Angelina Woodgrove if you don't mind, I'm helping with the investigation," Al lied, thankful he didn't have he true body or the lie would be easily detected.

"Right away, sir," the clerk said before disappearing into the shelves behind the counter. Al sighed as he turned to lean against the desk, his eyes falling on a bulletin board where the familiar face of Ed was staring back at him with a smile, Al's shoulder barely in the background, but enough there that he knew it was him. Who else had metal spikes on their shoulder?

"Um, sir?" Al turned to look at the clerk, who was fiddling with his tie nervously.

"Yes?" Al asked, wondering an Ed-like fit of rage would get him the files faster.

"The files are marked classified…" the clerk muttered and Al held up Ed's State Alchemist watch, of course, it was a very big crime for Al to pretend to be a State Alchemist, but people were always mistaking him for the Fullmetal Alchemist anyway, what could it hurt? "Right this way, Sir." Al smiled as only he could with a metal head.

"Here you go, Sir," the clerk said before dropping a rather impressive pile of papers in front of Al. "I'll check back on you in a few hours." With that Al picked up the first paper, a clipping from a newspaper, to see a ten year old Woodgrove standing beside a man in front of a large statue that appeared to have been made out of a tree.

'Local Girl Follows in Father's Alchemic Footsteps' Al looked at the girl as she smiled at him, it was almost eerie how the girl resembled his brother, save for her dark, dark hair.

"So why us?" Havoc asked and the chimera sighed.

"You probably do look like me and Father," the Marcus-chimera stated. "It's not fair or believable, but you do. I showed the first one a picture of the family and he said it was like looking at a picture of himself."

"How long have you been like this?" Ed asked and there was a shifting.

"I don't know for sure, I couldn't tell time for quite a bit, the first chimera told me it's been about seven years since she took him," Marcus-chimera sighed. "I don't know how long I've been in this form."

"I still can't believe she did this," Havoc growled and there was a rattling of chains.

"Join the club," the Marcus-chimera sighed. "I kept hoping someone would come, but she covered her tracks too well, no one suspected a thing."

"We have to get out of here!" Havoc snarled and there was more rattling and Ed fought the urge to do the same. Havoc was bigger than the woman, probably stronger, and he had all his limbs.

"You would die you left the room," the Marcus chimera admitted and Ed stared in the darkness where it had to be sitting.

"Why do you say that?" Ed asked.

"She's set up traps, something that only reacts to human energy that isn't her own. Mother was always good at using alchemic energy. She wrote a theory that alchemic processes can recognize their creator due to the type of alchemic energy they are best at, because every alchemist has something their better at. Elemental manipulation, transmutation, photo processes, healing processes, botanic processes, it's how Mother bases her alchemic booby traps. They don't work on her energy or on non human energy. Because I'm her son and I'm a chimera, I'm doubly protected," the Marcus-chimera stated.

"Wait, because you're her son?" Ed asked. "I didn't think sharing genetic material would allow for such an energy sharing as well."

"Oh no, it does, you still carry your parents' energy influences, be it the energy generated by cells to create blue eyes or brown eyes, fair or pale skin, alchemic tendencies," Marcus-chimera continued. "Mother and Father were both very good alchemists. Father studied the actualities in alchemic energy, the reasons that chimeras need to produce as many animals as are used in the transmutation to create them, the reason you need exact portions of chemical and matter in non-living transmutation. Mother worked with theory, the alchemic possibilities. That's why she's so talented, she could use her theories to rework Father's formulas."

"She's a psycho," Havoc stated, sounding calmer than before.

"Oh, I won't deny that, but she's still a genius, imagine what she could have done for society if she hadn't been insane," Marcus-chimera whispered and Ed shivered, it was awesome how something so powerful could belong to someone so horrible. It just wasn't fair.

"The Midnight Alchemist," Al whispered as he held up a picture of Woodgrove in uniform, she looked very scary, the laughter and humor gone from her face as she stood at attention.

Al pulled out the military information. A copy of her State Alchemy Exam results, she had filled out the entire test with only five wrong answers. She had gone through a physical which seemed to state perfect physical and mental health. For her practical she had been blindfolded and drawn seven transmutation circles which had become seven statues of various leaders at that time. The Fuhrer still had his in the courtyard of his home.

"Impressive," Al muttered as he read about the Midnight Alchemist's achievements, it was kind of interesting how she went about trying to give alchemists a good name, much like a certain missing alchemist. "Transferred into the Chimera Squadron two years before the military started moving into Ishbal."

Al looked at a few other pictures from the military files, drunk disorderly conduct had a picture of Woodgrove with two men from her squadron, they looked as if they had been in a fight. The report stated that Woodgrove had started it.

The next folder had a copy of her letter giving her the name Midnight Alchemist for her ability to work alchemy in complete darkness.

Suddenly, Al stopped and dropped the file as he stared at the photo from a newspaper. His fingers shook as he pulled up the official report and began to read.

"Angelina Woodgrove is to be put under the care of Hohemheim Elric as an apprentice of photo-alchemy studies. They will be studying the possibilities of alchemic light," Al whispered as he stared at the picture of Woodgrove shaking hands with his father. "The Midnight Alchemist and the Light Alchemist will be making their report on the possibilities of alternate uses of alchemic light in the next week." The date was several months before Woodgrove's dishonorable discharge.

"She worked with Dad," Al whispered, staring at the picture of his father.

"Is there anything we can do?" Havoc asked.

"Not that I know of, if I could just draw a transmutation circle I could free you…but…I messed up the last one I tried so badly…I wouldn't dare try again," Marcus-chimera whispered and Ed sighed.

"This is getting us no where, if I could draw a damn circle I could get us out too, but I can't really bend my wrist enough to do that," Ed growled.

"You're an alchemist too!" the Marcus-chimera hissed with a voice that seemed filled with hope. "If I hid chalk for you when she freed you next do you think you could draw a circle?"

"Yea I could draw a circle, but against her, I wouldn't stand a chance missing my arm and leg!" Ed groaned.

"But if you could draw a circle or two to free me, I could carry you and you could make a back door," Havoc stated.

"It wouldn't work, she'd be on me too soon," Ed grumbled. "I'm not very quiet or fast on just two limbs."

"Perhaps if I managed a distraction…still, she might not leave you unbound," the Marcus-chimera added.

"What about getting the other chimeras into it?" Havoc suggested.

"No, they just want to live, they're too afraid of her now to go against her…but I could trick them," the Marcus-chimera muttered.

"Now that sounds better than laying on my back and doing nothing," Ed smirked.

Roy was not happy. Hawkeye was not happy. Armstrong was not happy. As for Detective VanBuren, well, she was very not happy. Actually, Detective VanBuren looked like she was going to pop out her baby any moment as she sat at her sister's desk yelling at someone over the phone.

"Apparently, they still haven't found Detective Woodgrove," Maes stated as he looked through more deeds to the Hollows. "She's managed to avoid us for three days, I don't think we're going to catch her."

"Maes, your attitude about this is not appropriate," Roy stated as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I double that," VanBuren growled as she slammed down the phone. "She's purposely trying to piss me off now." The group looked at her.

"Could you tell us a bit more?" Maes asked, Roy did not miss the mischievous look in his friend's eyes.

"My officers have found several of the lesser quality bars…refurnished…several of the town's regular troublemakers have been surrounded by the walls, clearly alchemic work," VanBuren growled. "Plus at each sight there's been a countdown. 'One down so many more to go.'"

"Sounds like she's looking for something," Roy stated.

"A way to clear her name no doubt," Armstrong added.

"Maybe she's got an idea where to find the real kidnapper," Maes stated as he continued to mark off the deeds belonging to dead people. VanBuren glared at him before getting another phone call to increase her very not happy mood.

Al walked through the cemetery; he had quite a lot to think about. At the moment he was walking down the main path through the cemetery, this was the way to Woodgrove's son's grave. It was curious, he wasn't buried in her family's crypt, instead he was at the top of a hill, overlooking the rest of the cemetery.

As Al moved he heard the sound of smaller, lighter feet moving almost stealthily behind him. He turned and saw nothing, that didn't mean the person wasn't still out there. Al stopped and moved to look at the village. There was a soft breeze blew his feather out in front of him. He watched it dance before him and he looked down at the newspaper clipping with Woodgrove holding onto a man as they overlooked the coffin of their son. She looked so broken as if she wanted to die. Al wondered if his mother would have felt that way if it had been him or Ed who had died.

"Hello," a voice said and Al looked up in shock. It was such a familiar voice…but who was it? Al turned around and gasped. He was looking at himself.

"Mother still hasn't returned," the Marcus-chimera hissed, she had been gone for a day now, the Al-imitator was with her.

"She might not return until after she's gotten Al," Havoc stated and Ed growled before he began fighting with his chains.

"No! I can't let her kill Al! I won't!" Ed screamed in rage as he pulled and yanked on his chains.

"You mustn't!" the Marcus-chimera hissed. "If she returns to this you'll end up with your head on her mantel!"

"What?" Havoc cried.

"Mother keeps the heads of the look-a-likes in jars on her mantel, in her room!" Marcus-chimera hissed and Ed felt sick. He froze, his body slowly growing a layer of cold sweat at the thought.

"What about Al…what would she do to him?" Ed asked and the Marcus-chimera was quiet in the darkness of the cell.

"It would be quick, most likely painless," he whispered.

"No….Al….," Ed whined in the dark nothing of the cell, an image of Al as Scar's blast rendered a leg and half of his torso to shards kept repeating in his head. "Don't let her get you."

"Who…who are you?" Al gasped as he stared at the imitation. "Envy?" The imitation stared at him for a moment.

"No," the imitation stated and Al stared behind him, a cloaked woman was in the tree line watching.

"Answer me, who are you?" Al stated, preparing to defend himself. The imitation stepped forward.

"I was once called Rift, I can't remember my real name anymore," it stated and Al slowly realized who he was talking to.

"You're one of the missing boys!" he whispered in shock and the imitation nodded.

"Yes, if I take your place, she'll let me go, even this body is better than remaining trapped in her clutches," the imitation hissed and Al watched at the other armor rushed him. It was sloppy, as if it still hadn't gotten used to its body. A mistake it wouldn't have time to realize.

Al stepped back and brought his fist around, throwing the armor down the road from where he had just been enjoying the view of the town. He quickly slipped his papers into his chest, he could collect them later out of his legs.

"You're fast," the imitation stated. "But I have nothing to lose." Again the armor came at Al and he deftly threw the armor into the forest, but the woman was gone.

"I'm sorry," Woodgrove's voice stated and Al started at the woman's hand in his face as a blast of alchemic light threw his helmet into the woods and his body fell belly down at the woman's feet.

"For the others she snuck up on them and knocked them unconscious," the Marcus-chimera whispered. "She brought them here naked, I assume she left their clothing elsewhere."

"She did, she left their belongings in the basements of houses in the Hollows, all owned by people who had been dead before the kidnappings began," Havoc stated.

"Of course, Mother has always hated the Hollows, it would make more sense in keeping the investigation from following her lead," the Marcus-chimera hissed. "She always wanted my father to help her demolish the Hollows using alchemy. Together they could have decimated the entire section of the town easily."

"Why didn't they?" Ed asked.

"No one knows how many homeless people live in those old buildings," Marcus-chimera stated and Ed realized the truth of the matter. "Mother thought it was a cancer in our town. All evil and backdoor dealings begin and are planned in the Hollows. It is the unsightly part of a town on the edge of city-dom."

The cloaked woman sat across from the trio, her face hidden as she sipped her drink and indicated with her hand that the three speak their minds.

"What's in it for us?" the youth stated and the woman actually laughed.

"You're asking me, Puppet? I already told you, you're little errand boy is missing, he'll be dead before a year and you'll have to find another alchemist like him," she stated as she ran her fingertips over the moist rim of her glass, creating an unearthly tone.

"Why should we trust you?" the woman of the trio asked and the cloaked woman shrugged.

"You shouldn't, well, you shouldn't trust me with your backs, I'd rather send you back to the void than work with you, but this is a necessary evil," the cloaked woman stated.

"Than why do it?" the woman of the trio asked.

"I'm cleaning up a mess I allowed to get out of hand far too long ago," the cloaked woman explained.

"And we're just going to trust her, how do we know if she's telling the truth? I mean, the Fullmetal pipsqueak could be fine," the youth growled as he glared at the cloaked woman.

"Because if she's telling the truth then we're going to lose a resource we've but a lot of time and energy into," the woman of the trio stated, smirking at the cloaked woman.

"And if she's lying?" the short, stocky, and final member of the trio asked.

"You know the drill," the woman of the trio said with a nasty smile.

"I get to eat her!" the final member giggled and the cloaked woman rested back.

"Does this mean you'll come with me?" she sipped her drink, her face still hidden in the void of her cloak.

"We'll come, we'll save that brat, and if he isn't in need of saving then you're going to be," the youth stated as the cloaked woman laughed.

"No, you will save the boy and I will take care of his captor," the cloaked woman growled. "Then you will mysteriously vanish like you always seem to do."

"We'll take care of his captor!" the youth snarled and stood up, trying to intimidate the cloaked woman. She stood up, her head taller than the youth's, as she reached over the table grabbing a lock of his hair before pulling them a breath apart.

"No, I have been framed and I will not be denied my revenge. If you take away the boy's captor from me, then I will take away Hohemheim from you," she growled and the youth paused.

"You know where he is?" he whispered with an evil smile. She let him go and sat down.

"No, but I know where to start looking and I'm far more likely to find him than you ever are," she stated before taking another sip of her drink. The youth glared at her before looking at the other two.

"Fine, we'll come along," the woman of the trio stated and the woman held out her hand.

"I want your blood on it. You swear to save Edward Elric and leave his captor's fate to me," the cloaked woman stated and Envy, Lust, and Gluttony slit their hands on one of Lust's nails before allowing the woman to slit her hand and collect their blood.

"So, where to, boss?" Envy asked, the sarcasm and hate filling his voice. The woman pulled down her hood and glared at him with lion eyes.

"We're going to Laketon, my trio of homunculi," Woodgrove stated. "Hopefully, we won't be too late."

AN: Sorry it took so long to get this out to all of you but it has not been a good time for me. My grandfather is very sick and because I only have classes on Tues and Thrus I have been taking care of him. Alot of stuff has hit me right now, papers, tests, and looking for a job, I hope to get the next chapter out sooner. Thank you for your patience.


	9. Dead Things and Stolen Life

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, but I do own a very twisted imagination.

AN I: I'm making an apology to FullMetalYaoi because she's part of a FullMetal Alchemist RPG and she's been using the title Midnight Alchemist, however, I'm apologizing because I have to disregard her request that I "Change the Midnight Alchemist Thing". I'm two chapters in already using the title and going back to fix it is a real hassle because I really need it as you'll see in this chapter. I was unaware of this and I apologize for stepping on your toes but I'm not really copying you for two reasons, one, I had no idea the RPG existed and am currently completely clueless on your character's reasons for the name, and two, your character is Katarin the Midnight Alchemist, while my character is Angelina Woodgrove the Midnight Alchemist. Still, I don't want you to think I'm doing this to antagonize you, I just want you to know that I wanted that name for a reason.

~*~

9 – Dead Things and Stolen Life

~*~

Al watched without his eyes as the woman patted the imitation. She smiled down at his armor, obviously unaware that it was empty.

"Take care of the body, I don't want anyone to find it," she ordered and Al allowed the imitator to start dragging him away. "Don't forget his helmet."

"Yes, Mother," the imitator whispered and Al let it drag him into the woods. The imitator was reaching for his helmet when Al send a well trained fist into the imitator's back, however it seemed that the imitator was made from a poorer quality of metal than he was.

Al's fist went right through the back of his imitator and out the chest. Al looked at his arm as the imitator went limp and Al gulped.

"Are you done or not?" the woman ordered and Al began to panic. He lifted up the imitation only to find an empty suit of armor. Al looked back at the woman, rage burning up inside him…he knew what he had to do.

"…what do you mean? I told you a day ago to get those posters up!" VanBuren roared into the phone. "I don't care if most of the officers think she's innocent! She is the prime suspect and I want those Wanted posters up! Today!"

Maes smirked as he looked at VanBuren, the woman would go into labor any day at this rate. He looked over at Roy and caught his friend giving him the 'I know you're up to something and you damn well better share' look. Of course, Maes wasn't a Lieutenant Colonel in Investigations because he spilled his guts at every glare shot his way, even if it was Roy, Hawkeye, and Armstrong giving him the look. To piss them off more he began to whistle as he worked. VanBuren had an amazing vein in her forehead that began to bulge and he wanted to see how big he could get it.

"So where are we going?" Envy asked and Woodgrove smirked as she kept walking.

"Envy, she'll tell us what we need to know," Lust stated, secretly agreeing with Envy's question.

"We obviously cannot be found out, so welcome to headquarters," Woodgrove stated as she stood in the remains of the building, it was clear that a fire had been the death of the structure. Lust and Envy shared a looked of disgust and disbelief.

"You're kidding right?" Envy asked and Woodgrove shook her head, giving him a disapproving look.

"I was one of the best State Alchemists back in the day, do you really think a few years would make me rusty?" she snapped as she placed her hands on a stone and Lust realized that a transmutation circle formed in alchemic light before the stairs appeared.

"You still need the circles," she stated and Woodgrove looked at her with a dangerous smirk.

"A funny story, they were originally going to call me the Flash Alchemist until I did my first project," Woodgrove stated as she started down the stairs, her fingers brushing the walls and alchemic light illuminating the stairway. "You see, I've got a talent with alchemic light and Light Alchemist was already taken."

"Do you have a point?" Envy asked and Woodgrove smirked.

"My first project was under the dearly departed Brigadier General Gran. A weapon that had me temporarily stationed at Laboratory Five, would you like to know what that weapon was?" She stopped and all three got into defensive positions. One golden eye glared at Envy over her shoulder.

"What?" he snapped and her hand brushed the wall as she moved down the steps, no longer looking at the trio. A spike suddenly impaled the step in front of Envy and he stared at the woman.

"Lightless alchemy," Woodgrove hissed as she turned at the three. "Now, I only included you three in all of this because we have a similar goal, seeing the elder Elric boy free." With that the woman continued down the stairs in silence, the three homunculi staring at her back, Lust's hand was aimed, ready to pierce the Midnight Alchemist's heart just in case the woman dare try to double cross them.

"So, how are the others handling the search?" Ed asked and Havoc sighed, desperately wishing for a cigarette.

"When I was there we were basically marking off the houses in the area of the town where she's been dumping clothes, but I don't think we're in that area," Havoc muttered.

"Why's that?" Ed asked, more for conversation than curiosity.

"It smells different," Havoc replied. "The basement where we found your stuff smelt old, wet, moldy. That musty smell basements get when they've been flooded too many times. This one doesn't smell musty, it smells fresh, like it's never been flooded. Sweaty too, like it was made to last, deep in the earth."

"Yea, like the sub-basement in Central," Ed added and Havoc nodded in the dark as he pulled against his chains, more in something to do than a real escape attempt.

"Of course, we're nowhere near Laketon, people would notice me and the other chimeras too easily," the Marcus-chimera stated and there was the sound of the stool moving. "I brought food. Mother still hasn't returned, I'm worried."

"Why?" Ed asked, his curiosity perked.

"That last time Mother was away this long she…she took Joshua's body…she…she tried to bring him back," the Marcus-chimera whispered.

"Joshua…like Joshua Woodgrove, the one that died in Ishbal?" Havoc asked and there was a shuffling.

"Yes…" the Marcus-chimera whispered and Ed felt a weight on his bed. "I brought some small fruit, just open your mouth."

"What did she do with the body?" Ed asked and he felt a misshapen hand press against his cheek before a piece of fruit touched his lips, he ate it.

"She…she used a wandering man to animate the corpse, making a homunculus," the Marcus-chimera whispered.

The three homunculi looked at the large room they entered and Woodgrove placed her hand on the wall of the room and suddenly the stairway was gone. There were two other doorways and Lust and Envy took note of all the books in the room. It was basically a large laboratory.

"So, what's the plan?" Envy asked, casually, although he was ready to attack in a moment. Woodgrove didn't answer, instead she removed her cloak to reveal a secondary cloak, it too, was removed to reveal a skintight outfit. Leather pants with various alchemic symbols down each leg, knee high leather boots, a black shirt that hugged her chest, alchemic symbols down her sleeves, and a thick braid of black-red at the back of her head. If it weren't for her gold eyes, she could have passed for a homunculus.

"Edward's still alive and I have a pretty good idea where his captor will be," Woodgrove stated as she looked at a bookshelf filled with scrolls. She plucked one out of the pile and looked at it before walking over to a table and placed it down.

"This is the town?" Lust asked and Woodgrove nodded.

"Yes," Woodgrove placed pins into the scroll and pinned it to the table. "The basic plan is for you and Gluttony to watch this bar." Her finger was on a bar near the edge of the Hollows on the boarder of the town.

"What about me? Want to have me all to yourself?" Envy asked, transforming into Hohemheim and leering at Woodgrove.

"Hardly," Woodgrove stated, not even looking at the homunculus. "You'll be playing with the police, sending them on wild goose chases around town while I confirm the location of FullMetal."

"Why are you doing that?" Envy asked and Woodgrove gave him a look.

"Because I can't change my face whenever I feel like it and give the officers the slip…you can, Lust and Gluttony can blend into the crowd," Woodgrove stated as she looked at the map. "Besides, you'd have to be able to use alchemy to access where I think FullMetal is being hidden."

Al looked at the woman as she looked at the imitator's body and then at Al.

"I changed my mind, I'll help you bury it, I need you to help me with an errand before you replace it," she stated and knelt down, drawing a transmutation circle into the dirt. She placed her hands onto the circle and then a deep hole formed. "Push it in already!" Al quickly did it.

"Yes, Mother," he stated and the woman nodded before drawing another circle by the hole and the ground seemed unchanged.

"They'll never find him," she stated as she dusted her hands off. "Come, I need you to help me get something to get that Traitor off my back."

The woman marched in front of Al, walking into the graveyard and Al got a sinking feeling to his gut.

Envy smirked as he saw the group of familiar military faces, how could he pass up this chance, it was just too perfect.

Maes looked at the phone as it rang and then around the empty office. He sighed as he plucked it up.

"Detective VanBuren is out at the moment this is Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes speaking," he stated.

"I know it's you, Maes, I just wanted to give you fair warning. I've got a rather decent body double running around causing mischief around town. I wanted to let you know that this body double is rather….eccentric, I don't really have good control over her so if she seems a loose cannon, I'm not doing that," the familiar voice of Woodgrove whispered over the line and Maes looked around the room before reclining in VanBuren's chair.

"Really? I'll keep that in mind when the sightings of you start piling in. You do know you're going to put your sister into early labor?" he stated and there was a chuckle.

"I highly doubt it, you should have seen her pregnancy with Markie, her poor husband was following her with a bucket at six months thinking the same thing. If she's off her feet for a few days I've got no problem with that," Woodgrove stated. "Keep your eyes open Maes. You'll know when and where I'll need you all." With that the phone went dead and Maes smirked. Clever girl probably had a good location to watch the others leave the building without him. He looked out the window and noticed the back of a cloak vanish over the side of the building across the way.

Al stared in horror as he looked at the grave.

"She didn't want to bury it with the others since it wasn't part of the family anymore. Like marriage should keep it out of the Woodgrove Tomb," the woman stated as she made a similar symbol in the dirt. Al watched, horrified, as the ground opened and the coffin was exposed.

"Get it out of there," the woman ordered and Al swallowed nervously as he reached down to pull out the coffin. "No, no, you idiot, the body." Al fought the urge to gag, the fact he didn't have a body didn't matter, as he opened the coffin to look at the skeleton. He stared at if for a moment before looking up at her. She sighed impatiently before tossing a bag at him.

"Don't you dare miss a piece," she hissed and Al began to move the skeleton into the bag, bone by bone.

"She made a homunculus!" Ed hissed in shock and there was another piece of fruit at his lips, he didn't open his mouth this time. "How could she do that and not die?" The fruit was shoved into his mouth this time.

"Like I said, she sacrificed the wanderer, she used his life as the exchange…but…" the Marcus-chimera whispered. "You can't bring them back, no matter what. An…the Traitor destroyed him. It made her mad that Mother would do that to Joshua's body."

"Who do you think she'll be bringing back this time?" Havoc asked and there was a long drawn out silence.

"The one that will hurt the Traitor the most. The one she loved more than the rest of the family," Marcus-chimera whispered and Ed felt cold fingers of dread work down his back.

Roy looked up and the last person he expected to see was Woodgrove looking back at him from across the plaza.

"Hawkeye," he hissed and there was the sound of a gun being cocked before Woodgrove smirked, it wasn't very pretty. "Take her down, not out." The gun fired, but Woodgrove was already running for it.

"After her!" VanBuren cried and not only were Roy, Hawkeye, and Armstrong running after Woodgrove and VanBuren, but so was half the police force.

Envy was having a grand old time as he ran through the part of town the foolish ex-State Alchemist had called the Hollows. Guns fired and more than a few shots hit around head level, they either really wanted her dead or they were getting tired and sloppy. Not that Envy cared either way.

"Stop! Angelina stop!" a woman cried and Envy tried not to laugh as he began moving through back alleyways, quickly changing form to a bum and sitting down, head dangling in drunken imitation.

"Where did…she go…now?" an officer stated as he walked by with the Flame idiot. Envy fought the smirk as they passed him and then there was a call and the two took off again.

Al got out of the grave and stared at the bag. How could he have done this? Oh yea, Ed, she had Ed, she would take him to Ed.

"Go…find those military morons and kill them one by one," she ordered as she pulled the bag out of his hands. "Now!" Al quickly got out of the grave and headed towards town, he felt her refill the grave and Al worried about what she intended to do with those bones.

Woodgrove stared at the grave, her eyes moved over the tombstone before placing a hand on the grave.

"What has happened?" she asked as she dug her fingers into the dirt, practically feeling the alchemic energy. "No…" Alone in the graveyard she screamed, holding her head and for once wishing for some of that medication.

Al rushed back to Laketon, only to find the office empty, he returned to the hotel, again, no one, he fought the urge to panic.

The trio of homunculi stood over the body that Gluttony had been chewing on.

"Where did you find this?" Lust asked as she pulled on the slightly gnawed on corpse.

"Far side of town, Lust, between the lake and the graveyard," he whispered, drooling over the corpse.

"Is it what I think?" she asked and Gluttony smiled.

"It tastes of alchemy and death," he giggled happily and Lush moved the flesh around. It felt freshly dead.

"How long has it been dead?" she asked and then Gluttony began to giggle even more. Envy raised an eyebrow.

"At least two years," he laughed and clapped. "It tastes so good, so well aged." Lust looked at Envy and the other began to search and then they found it. There, over where the heart would be, was the familiar shape of a snake devouring its own tail.

"Another?" Envy asked and Lust shook her head.

"Not quite like us," she stated, staring at the mark and then down at hers. "It has the resurrection symbol. It was dead brought to life. Closer to Majhal's work with the substitution of another's life."

"Can I finish, Lust?" Gluttony asked and Envy stared at the remains of the homunculus.

"So, someone here can make homunculi without losing anything of themselves, I wonder who that could be," Envy purred and Lust nodded.

"And you didn't want to work with her," Lust whispered.

The child walked down the street, his long blond hair hanging around his shoulders in tentacles that whispered of a young lifetime without bathing. The cloaked figure watched the boy child as he moved through the crowd.

The cloaked figure moved closer and closer through the crowd as the boy stumbled and fell, it was the perfect moment.

"Are you alright, honey?" the woman asked as she gently stroked the boy's shoulder.

"I'm fine," he whispered, the hard edge of street life probably teaching him the dangers of strange people, but the child in him was looking at her with such hopeful eyes.

"Let me clean you up," she stated as she walked the little boy to a nearby fountain. She ripped some of her cloak free and dipped it into the cool liquid before gently cleaning the little boy's leg. "You know, once I had a little boy, just like you?" The child looked up at her.

"Really?" he asked and she nodded, wiping away the slight blood before wrapping the strip of cloth over the wound. "Where is he now?"

"Someplace safe," the cloaked figure whispered as she finished tying the cloth over his minor wound. "Would you like to join me for dinner?" The young street urchin's eyes glowed in joy and he nodded quickly.

"Come with me then," the woman's hand was grasped by the much smaller hand and she smiled a smile that was so disturbing that if the street urchin had been looking at her face he would have screamed while urinating on himself. However, he wasn't looking at her face.

Lust, Gluttony, and Envy entered the lab, it was empty and there was an alchemic charge in the air, as if Woodgrove had performed something either recently or very strong.

"What is she up to?" Lust whispered and Envy shrugged as he plucked a book off a nearby desk.

"Oh, Lust, you have to see this," he chuckled and tossed the book to the not-quite-human woman. Lust looked in the book and her eyes widened. It was a research journal, like Marco's only this was a very interesting research journal.

"This is how to make a homunculus on purpose," she muttered as she read the results. "Strange, it mimics the chimera's the preacher made with the birds to sound like the dead humans. A mixing of the preacher and Majhal."

"Think our partner did this?" Envy asked and Lust waved the book in front of Gluttony's nose.

"What do you smell?" she asked and the round little homunculus smiled, showing that no matter how harmless he looked, he was still a ruthless little killer.

"Yes, but there are two more scents on it…close, kin, a sister…mother…brother…close family," he stated with a grin and Lust looked at the book.

"Should we be worried that we'll be ingredients in a resurrection attempt?" Envy asked and Lust shook her head.

"No, we can kill her too easily," Lust stated and hissed as the floor beneath her feet sucked her down to her knees, doing the same to her two companions.

"You shouldn't talk about people so poorly. You're making my ears burn," the cloaked form of Woodgrove stated as she entered the room, a bag over one shoulder and another bigger bag under her arms.

"Let us go or I'll kill you," Lust stated calmly and Woodgrove nodded hitting her elbow to the wall and the floor released them.

"There, can't blame me for being cautious when you're talking about killing me," Woodgrove stated before walking into the next room.

"So, what's in the bag?" Envy asked and Woodgrove looked at him before smirking.

"Supplies," she stated before slamming the door behind her.

Ed and Havoc were gagged and in the darkness when the door opened and the woman entered with two sacks. She placed them on the floor and whistled happily as she placed one bag by the tub, pressing her hands against it and Ed stared in horror at the unconscious little boy. The bag had turned into rope that wrapped around his wrists and the foot of the tub.

"Mother…what are you doing?" the Marcus-chimera asked from the doorway and the woman smirked at him.

"Making a surprise for that traitor," she chuckled as she walked menacingly towards the blind chimera. "Do you want to know what I'm making her?"

"Mother…you're…you're not going to do what I think you're going to do are you?" the Marcus-chimera whimpered and suddenly Ed didn't want to see this. He closed his eyes against it.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" she whispered and Ed's heart skipped a beat in fear and he prayed that he wasn't going to have a heart attack. Gold eyes opened in time to see her hand vanish into her bag and begin to pull something out. "Hold out your hand, Pet, and you'll know what I'm going to do." The Marcus-chimera's hand shook violently as it was extended to the madwoman.

Ed, Havoc, and the Marcus-chimera couldn't stifle their screams even behind the inhuman beak and gags as the very human skull was pressed into the inhuman hand.

AN II: Well? Did you like it, hate it, want more of this sickness? Let me know what you think.


	10. Plans for a Family Reunion

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA but I do claim several pornographic dreams with Roy as my co-star *wink wink*

10 – Plans for a Family Reunion

~*~

Ed stared at the skull rocking back and forth as the Marcus-chimera shivered on the floor in obvious horror.

"Who?" the Marcus-chimera whispered and the woman laughed.

"The one that Traitor loved the most out of the family, she will suffer for trying to interfere with My Family," the woman said as she lifted the skull off the floor and returned it to the bag.

"Not the Detective…" the Marcus-chimera whispered and the woman snarled. He quickly shut up.

"Do not use her name, she is no longer part of the family," the woman stated before placing the bag in the tub and Ed felt his rage boil over as she brushed the child's head before heading out of the room with the Marcus-chimera at her side.

Envy watched Woodgrove as she worked on a blackboard.

"Staring at the back of my head does not impress me, Sin," she stated as she erased the last four inches and wrote something different.

"I'm bored, you told Lust and Gluttony to look for this 'guilty' person while I had to stay here. Lonely are you?" he teased and the woman looked at him before chuckling darkly.

"Oh yes, very lonely, but even with your…talents…you'd never be my type," she stated as she worked and Envy glared at her back. "Ooo, if looks could kill." He glared harder.

"What did you bring in last night?" he asked and the woman stood up and turned to face him, approaching him, getting so that they were almost nose to nose, her height advantage being displayed.

"Curious? Would you like to know what I'm making?" she asked and Envy pressed against her, if she thought he would be intimidated by size she had another thing coming. General Gran was before her and she smirked, an expression that would be more at home of Envy's own face. "While I'm certain I could make you another sibling, I'm doing everything according to Equivalent Exchange. I'm not an Elric, I know the rules and I follow them. Unlike present company." There was a knowing look that Envy wanted to beat off her face.

"Your mouth will get you into trouble one of these days," he hissed before assuming his 'true' form.

"Been there, done that, anything else you want to add, Elr…Envy," the slip was not accidental and Envy wondered how much Hohemhiem shared with his partner.

"After all this, I may have to kill you," Envy stated and the woman stepped back, a long lock of brown/red/black hair swung between her eyes, having escaped her tight bun. There was a moment of intense silence.

"You'll have to wait your turn, many men have staked claim on my life, not all of them were human either," she said with a smile that again would be better suited on Envy's own face. It was a psychopath's smile.

Detective VanBuren was still not happy and Maes was having a grand old time with it. So far there had been several Woodgrove sightings…none had developed into anything more than a game of tag in the Hollows.

"I swear, even if she is innocent, I'm going to kill her for this!" VanBuren snarled, throwing a picture frame across the room, shattering the glass and Roy sighed as he began picking up the pieces, more for something to do besides listen to the pregnant woman bitch about Woodgrove. As he picked up the pieces, he turned the frame over to show three young women sitting in a circle of flowers, dressed in lovely dresses. VanBuren was dressed in a bright yellow dress as she sat on a bench beside the other sister…what the Hell was her name again? Guinevere? Genevieve…there we go…Genevieve was in a dark pink dress next to VanBuren as the two held hands and giggled as Woodgrove reclined on the ground in front of them. Woodgrove was in a dark purple-blue dress, resting on her side in front of her sisters feet, holding her head up with one hand while the other drew something in the grass, Roy had no doubt it was an array.

Roy sighed as he tossed the glass away and placed the frame down on a nearby bookshelf. Looking through the room there were various pictures, since the detective sisters had shared this office to work on this case it wasn't surprising so many images of their family were present. Everywhere one looked there was a face that somewhat resembled the two sisters. The phone rang and VanBuren ripped it out of the cradle.

"VanBuren," she growled and Roy wondered how the person on the other end of the phone was feeling. She froze and there was the sound of a masculine voice yelling at her. "I'm sorry! Well, no, but… That's not fair! I have to put the job first! But she's the prime suspect! I know. No. I can't do that, not even if I believed she was! I can't. I don't, she fits the profile perfectly. What? I can't believe you would say that to me! Thomas that isn't fair, you always believe her just because she was a State Alchemist! I don't care!"

The group was silent, this was a twist to the normal.

"Just because you served with her does not mean you know her! How often did you talk to her after she married that bastard? What about after her son died, huh? I didn't see you sitting with her as she cried while curled around one of his stuffed animals! So what? She could easily change! I want to know who called you to let you know! I'll use my status as investigating detective to make you! What?! Oh this is rich, you're going to believe her, the main suspect, compared to me, the investigator. I do know how to do my job, Thomas, thank you very much, I've been doing it longer than she has! I am not being harder on her than I would on any other suspect. That's a lie, I would never use that as an excuse to antagonize her! Fine, you stuffy bastard, come out here and help! I'll look forward to meeting you tonight at the station. Good bye!" VanBuren slammed the phone down into the cradle so hard the frame of the phone cracked. "Oh, Angelina, you had better hope he finds you first." There was something behind those blue eyes that made Roy suddenly wonder a little more about the Woodgrove family and their seemingly bad luck.

"She loved you the best," the woman whispered as she stroked the skull, polishing the bone slowly, taking away the dirt and dust that decay caused. Ed watched in horror as she had started this job after feeding Havoc and him. She was gently scrubbing the skull as the young boy whimpered from behind his bindings. "She did, you were her favorite. The fact she wouldn't share you with me always annoyed me, you are part of the Family, no matter that you have a different family name."

Long fingers stroked the bone in a loving caress, moving around the eye sockets and over the cheek bone.

"She shouldn't have favored you so," the woman spoke to the bones as she took a cloth and began buffing the bone so that it glowed in the dim light. "After the experiment with Joshua, seeing that look of horror and despair, I knew how to make the next one better. She won't be able to kill you, not after she took such good care of you, playing with your hair for hours, dressing you up like a doll, oh no, she won't be able to kill you once I've brought you back." The skull was set on a blanket behind her, facing up.

Ed's heart was beating hard as he looked at the child who was beyond hysterical. The little boy's shorts were stained with his urine and his wrists were bright red, soon his thrashing would draw blood.

Al looked at the phone. The light gleamed off the black handle, the smudges of grease from the hands of the previous users left grayish fingerprints across the blackness of the handle.

Al shone too, not that he could appreciate it, his feather iridescent in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the dirty window of the bar. His back a line of silver-blue in the smoggy environment.

Had he had his real body, his eyes would be brimming with tears and he would more likely than not, be gnawing on his bottom lip. His cheeks would have been flushed and his hair and clothing a mess. Al, however, did not have his body, instead he stood like a metal statue, glowing with light from a filthy window, like a mythical warrior about to slay some terrible demon.

The demon was free, running around doing who knows what, while Al had to become a messenger of pain. There were two people that cared for the boys that did not know. Not Ross and Brosh, they had been ordered to remain in Central and take up the slack from Hughes and Armstrong's being here. No, the people that needed to be told were not from Central, but from Rizenbul and they would not take this well.

Al lifted up the receiver and listened to the operator come on, he gave the Rockbell home a call.

Winry Rockbell's heart was in her throat as she stared at her grandmother's face. Pinako was the strongest person Winry knew, nothing could scare the young woman more than to see tears welling up in her grandmother's black little eyes. Pinako hadn't cried since the news of her parents' deaths had come. No, this was bad and there was only one reason that Pinako would be fighting back tears. Ed and Al.

"What do they know?" Pinako's voice was calm and soothing, she was talking to Al, Ed, no matter what was wrong, was given a commanding tone. Pinako knew that in a crisis between the brothers Al was to be comforted and Ed was to be given orders. It was what happened, Ed could take being beaten any day of the week, but to see Al hurt was to render Ed a ball of helpless emotions that couldn't decide where to remain. Al was calling and Ed was hurt…or worse.

"At least eight months, well, it's only been how long?" Pinako asked and Winry couldn't understand. What was only at least eight months? What was going on? "I understand Alphonse, don't worry. Do you need anything? If you think you can handle this. Call us the second you find out more. I'll break it to her gently, Al. He's in our prayers." Winry was about to attack her grandmother when Pinako turned to the young girl.

"Well! What's wrong with Ed?" she cried, ready to shake the old woman's head off. The tears were already in Winry's eyes.

"Sit down, Winry," Pinako whispered and Winry listened.

From outside of the Rockbell Automail Shoppe there came a wail of abject horror and sorrow and birds flew into the air from the surrounding meadows.

Al stared at the phone as he held it against the cradle.

"They had to know," he whispered before turning and leaving, unaware he was watched by two less than human figures in the corner.

Woodgrove was asleep, something that astonished Envy when he went to annoy the woman. When she ignored his fifth insult he had gotten right into her face and realized she had propped her head up using her arm so that it would look like she was going over the contents of a book. He was less than amused with his company, then he looked at her. He had been around humans so long, but he never really looked at them. The woman was pale, like their naturally white skin, however, she had pink cheeks, roses on the points of her cheekbones. Her eyes had been shadowed by a natural purple that Envy was assumed was due to sleep and now looking at her, the purple was nearly gone, seeming to have vanished with the restoring of energy provided by sleep.

Envy stared at the human as she slept, she was not like the Midget, no, she was dignified in unconsciousness, hell, when he had seen the Midget sleep the child had drooled all over himself.

Envy's study on the difference between humans as they sleep was interrupted by the woman sitting up and letting out a scream.

"Don't you touch him!" her voice was ragged and harsh as if she was being physically attacked while weak. Her eyes seemed hazy as if there was a dull varnish covering the truth of her gold. It made the predator in Envy giddy until she thrashed out of the chair, striking him in the groin. The two were face to face as her eyes became clear, like a cloud slipping out from in front of a dawning sun. "What the hell…" she looked around before shaking her head. "Damn."

"Sweet dreams, I assume," Envy snapped and she looked at him before chuckling.

"Sorry," she stated, shocking the homunculus. "I tend to get violent after one of those." With that she got up and headed into one of the back rooms, the energy of alchemy made Envy nervous and he quickly followed only to find the room empty. The Gate knew where the hell that woman had gone, but Envy would be far more cautious the next time he studied her. He rubbed his bruised manhood as he looked around the room before exiting.

Ed stared at the skeleton being assembled on the floor, the glowing white bones making him more and more nervous about why the child was present, he was trying to delude himself, deep down, Ed knew that the little boy was more likely than not an orphan. The child would be used to give this…homunculus life, and turned against the Detective searching for Havoc and him.

"I was so jealous of you, she was there to comfort you through your troubles, but she totally ignored me when sorrow struck me, now you'll be the tool to cause her downfall," the woman laughed, all through the cleaning of the bones, she would talk to them as if the skeleton would suddenly start talking back to her.

"Soon, so soon, I will destroy her for trying to stop the reformation of the Family," the woman whispered, kissing the rib she was cleaning before laughing.

"You all didn't need to accompany me to the train station," VanBuren stated as she glared at Roy, Hawkeye, and Hughes.

"Well, we're anxious to meet Colonel Woodgrove," Hughes stated with a smirk and VanBuren glared.

"I'm still shocked you didn't know him," she stated and Roy shrugged.

"He's part of foreign affairs, he's been in Ishbal helping to rebuild, most of the officers in that division are not there by choice," Roy stated and VanBuren nodded.

"He volunteered. He wanted to make up for Danny and Joshua's sins I guess," she stated as she paced the platform, looking at her watch before forming a holding pattern of twenty steps across, eight steps down, twenty steps back across, and eight steps up. Roy and Hughes reclined on a bench while Hawkeye went to check on the ETA.

The sound of a train whistle brought the group together to watch the train pull into the station and a very small number of people got off. One was a tall, broad, blond, green eyed man in a uniform.

"Catherine," he chided as he marched over to him, his skin was baked a rich gold, like some bronze god of days of old. His green eyes were sharp and similar to his nephew's born of his younger sister. He turned to look at the three officers and took note of their ranks, he stared and the two inferior officers saluted, then both superior officers gave each other the motion of respect. "I was unaware you all were still present, is the Fullmetal Alchemist really so important at only sixteen years of age?" The group looked amongst each other.

"We have more than just professional interest in him, Colonel Woodgrove," Hughes stated. "A few of us have taken on a parental bond with him." There was a softening to those green eyes. A hand was extended to Hughes.

"Just call me Tom, I'm on military leave for a few weeks," the man said and there was a sad smile. "Angel's always been one of the boys."

"Angel?" Hawkeye asked.

"Thomas, Joshua, and Daniel always called Angelina Angel, I wasn't in on the joke," VanBuren stated and Tom shook his head as he shook each officer's hand with a smooth palm that seemed to comfort on contact.

"Catherine, keep that forked tongue in your mouth around me, I have a short temper with you," Tom growled and there was a similar set to their mouths as they glared at each other. He had the height advantage by a foot and a half.

"Whatever, I suppose you'll be wanting the spare room…" she was cut off.

"I won't be staying with you, I'll be at Angel's," he stated and the look of abject horror was frozen on her face long enough for a smirk to appear on his.

"That is a crime scene!" she hissed and the officers decided to let the family members fight.

"That has turned up nothing, Rinny, I will stay there so I don't interfere with your home life. I will remain on the sofa like I have every time I visited her," Tom stated and there was no room to argue. The two glared and she looked away.

"You haven't grown up at all, Thomas," she snapped and he laughed before kissing her cheek, through it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with him.

"And you've turned into Mother," he stated before looking at the officers. "However, I need a drink. Care to join me?" The officers nodded, perhaps there would be a few more answers.

The trio of homunculi stared at the woman as she began drawing a large transmutation circle on the floor of the other room. The beds she had given them were pushed against the far wall to give her enough room. The paintbrush that was the size of a small mop was leaving trails of red liquid on the floor.

"What is that?" Envy asked and Woodgrove ignored him. She moved around the circle, it looked like she was doing some strange, cultural dance.

"Envy," Lust whispered as she watched the concentration that was on the woman's face.

Slowly, the circle became more and more intricate, each stroke adding onto the previous strokes until it was as if she had woven the red liquid together. She took a step back and touched a transmutation on her sleeve, the liquid began to glow and the three watched as the liquid was dried after the light was gone.

"Hand me that smaller brush," Woodgrove stated as she extended her hand to the homunculi, they looked to see a smaller hand brush on the desk and Lust approached with the brush and stopped short of handing it to the Midnight Alchemist.

"What are you doing?" Lust asked and Woodgrove sighed before looking at the three.

"I'm going to make…an atrocity to stop that bitch," she hissed as she glared at the trio of non-humans. Lust handed her the brush.

"Don't kill yourself before we save Fullmetal," she stated and Woodgrove smirked.

"It's not nearly to the level of atrocity as you all are," Woodgrove stated before removing all clothing that wasn't skin-tight. She began crouching over the circle, supporting herself with one arm while continuing the circle.

Ed stared at the skeleton that lay on the blanket in the corner of the room. The woman had long since gone, leaving the three prisoners the light. The oil lamp made the bones gleam, making the shadows in the skull, ribcage, and pelvic bone all that more contrast.

The little boy was frantic, she had redone his bindings, forcing the little boy to lean against the tub, his wrists behind his back tangled by the ropes with the foot of the tub. The ropes were in his mouth, working as a gag, making his mouth pull back in some horrid half smile. His legs were spread so his ankles could come back and be bound to the same tub foot as his wrists.

The child hadn't stopped staring at the skeleton and Ed didn't blame him, it was like a magnet for the eyes. You would look away for only a moment before it would pull your eyes back to it.

Tom sat in the chair with his jacket over the back as he drank his beer. His blond hair was longer than it appeared at the train station because it was held in a ponytail, not very long, but enough that when one of the waitresses saw him and pulled it out to flirt, when it was put back up a few stray locks framed his face…making him seem younger.

"So…Tom….why are you here?" Maes asked and the Colonel stretched, he was neither taller nor broader than Armstrong, but his presents seemed to fill up more space.

"Angel called me," he stated calmly as he sipped his beer, eyes moving around the bar. "She told me everything about the case before telling me that Catherine was attempting to arrest her for the crimes." He took another sip before his dinner arrived and he ate.

"Why do you disregard Detective VanBuren's side so easily?" Hawkeye asked, her fingers unconsciously moving toward her gun.

"Simple, they've hated each other for years, Angel's always been more like a man, choosing to ignore Catherine's hatred and not bothering to hide her own," Tom said as he smirked, seeing something that no one besides family probably could see. "I respect Angel, she's always looked out for us, when Catherine offered her the chance to work on the case I thought she'd given up the hate, I know Angel did."

"What caused it?" Hughes asked. "This rivalry." Tom sighed as he rubbed his brow.

"It's a lot of family politics," he stated as he looked at them with those piercing green eyes. "You have to understand both our parents were skilled alchemists, who naturally assumed all their children would be too. Sadly, only Angel, Danny, and Baby ever showed any talent, but man, what talent they had." A small smile formed as his eyes closed. "They would compete with each other for hours, each one transmuting an object until it was so different from the original form that the other two couldn't come up with something to top it."

"Wait, I thought your youngest brother was minus an arm," Roy added and Tom laughed.

"Yea, Baby was, but he could draw a circle in a matter of seconds, if he had lived long enough for us to pitch in, we'd have gotten him the automail and I'm sure Angel would have taken him to Central with her," Tom was obviously lost in memories. "She loved being the Midnight Alchemist and couldn't wait for Baby to get old enough."

"You were saving up for an automail attachment?" Maes asked and Tom nodded.

"Dad knew that attaching too soon would stunt his growth and Mom liked having a child to baby so we siblings were pooling together to get him the automail for his eighteenth birthday," Tom smiled.

"Wait, you were going to allow him to become a State alchemist at eighteen?" Roy asked and Tom nodded.

"Sure, when we ran away to join the military Joshua was only eighteen, Angel was sixteen, both Danny and I were fourteen and were taken in as trainees for five years. Danny didn't become a State Alchemist till our third year together in the army…right in time for Ishbal," there was the same sorrowful look on Tom's face that had been on Woodgrove's. "I was lucky, I was transferred into the foreign affairs department while Danny was taking his State Alchemy exam…Angel had been helping him while doing her work with Hohemheim, it was…"

"Did you say that Woodgrove worked with Hohemheim Elric, the Light Alchemist?" Roy cried and Tom looked at him before nodding.

"Yes, only for a few months before the Alchemists were called together to go to Ishbal. She left before the war started, met her husband the day she came home. Kind of sad that her son barely saw the end of that damn war," there was a moment of silence.

"So Woodgrove was only sixteen when she became a State Alchemist?" Hughes asked and Tom nodded.

"She's not the youngest, until Hohemheim's kid the record had been fourteen, but that was before even my father," Tom stated. "I'm kind of shocked Catherine would think Angel would kidnap Hohemheim's kid, Angel couldn't stand Hohemheim."

"Really, I always found the man pleasant company," Roy stated and Tom actually let out a belly laugh.

"Sure, if you're working with him, Angel was working under him!" Tom chuckled, finishing his dinner and beer. "Angel said he was the most anal man with transmutation circles and it took hours to get those damn circles drawn. No, Angel really did go out of her way to get kicked out, made our Dad furious, not that Angel couldn't get away with murder with Dad. She got the Chimera Squad tattoo, she married a non-alchemist, and she used her talents to fix random objects around Laketon, and Dad forgave everything."

"If you don't mind me prying, but how did VanBuren and Woodgrove's rivalry begin?" Hawkeye asked and Tom sat for a moment.

"It was really about Angel's behavior, way back when we were teens. You see, Angel's two years older than me, exactly, I'm ten months older than Danny, and two years older than Catherine, meaning Catherine and Angel have four years difference," Tom explained. "Catherine grew up fast, mentally, and she started acting like a 'proper' lady way back when she was eight. She got on Angel's back like no body's business, always telling her to be more of a lady. I'm sorry but Angel was raised in the middle of a bunch of boys, she's a fine damn lady if you ask me. Deep down, I think Catherine's jealous. Angel always took after our mother in appearance, height, shape, coloring, I think Catherine was jealous. Mom was a great lady, neat, proper, and utterly embarrassed that her first born daughter was a tomboy. I'd say our mother bred the rivalry. Catherine embraced the favoritism while Angel stuck with us boys."

"What about your mother?" Maes asked.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked.

"What about her makes you think she was firing the competition?" Maes specified and Tom leaned back in his chair.

"She was embarrassed that only one daughter had any alchemic talent and that two of the boys did. Mom always was very competitive, she competed with Dad a lot. They encouraged the alchemy contests between Angel, Danny, and Baby. I think Mom wanted to show Dad up, make the better adult out of the girls. Mom and Dad raised us together, but Dad was the better teacher, Mom really took the younger kids under her wing, trying to prove that she was better," Tom sighed. "In all honesty, I think she saw Angel as a second chance for herself, you know, trying to live through her alchemic daughter. I think, deep down, Catherine recognized this and hated Angel for it, because Mom would try and use Catherine to make Angel jealous."

The trio of homunculi watched as the Midnight Alchemist used the fine paintbrush, to make thin, spider-like lines through the complex circle on the floor. Her brow was gleaming with sweat as she remained in the one armed push up position she had been crab walking around in for the past two hours.

"What is this for?" Envy demanded, the irritation in his voice was undeniable. Finally, her brush stopped moving and the woman stood up, the audible sound of her shoulders and hips popping startled her and she chuckled.

"Getting old sucks," she laughed as she rubbed her shoulder before dropping the brush and touching the circle that dried the fresh…paint. "What are you bitching about now, Sin?" She looked at them and Envy growled, she either liked toying with him or she completely tuned out the world while drawing that damn circle.

"What is that substance? And what is that circle for?" he demanded and Woodgrove wiped her hands clean on a towel.

"Pig's blood mixed with paint," Woodgrove stated. "Have to use enough organic materials for this." She looked at the homunculi and then at the clock. "You three get out of here, I don't care where, just make sure you aren't getting chased by cops tonight." Slowly the three left the room and she smiled at them before transmuting the wall so the door was gone.

The three stared at the wall for several minutes, slowly, there was a faint shrieking sound behind it, like a piglet.

"Another homunculus?" Envy asked and Lust shook her head.

"I can't tell you, but I'm thinking more along the lines of Majhal," she sighed before heading out.

"You're going to listen to her?" Envy asked and Lust shrugged.

"I don't plan to listen to that," Lust stated and with that she left followed closely by Gluttony, leaving Envy alone to listening to the increasing squeals. Envy transformed to look like Lust.

"I don't plan to listen to that," he made a face before making an unladylike gesture at the door before changing back to himself. "Nothing better to do anyway." With that Envy jogged to catch up to the younger two.

Ed cried out threats to the woman behind his gag as she began dragging the child out of the cell. The child had been screaming since the chimeras had appeared to lift the blanket with the skeleton on it up and to take it up the stairs.

"Stop struggling, you're disturbing Marcus and Alexander!" the woman hissed as she shook the child and the boy's eyes pleaded with Ed and Havoc to help. Both were struggling as the child's shrill cries echoed through the chamber, coming back to them like the sound of a pig about to be slaughtered.

"Enough," she hissed and shook the boy till his head rocked back and forth. "Now come." This time the door was slammed shut and Ed felt his heart pound as the squeals became softer and fainter.

Woodgrove sweated as she forced the struggling creature into the cage, her breathing hard as she pulled the blanket with the needed materials closer.

"Alright…here goes nothing," she whispered. "Think about Joshua." The power of alchemy began to build.

Ed could feel alchemic energy throbbing through the walls and his eyes widened as the power began to resemble the power that had been around him the night they had tried to revive Mother. Wide gold eyes watched the room, as if expecting the power to come and remove another limb.

Wide gold eyes watched the gold energy swirl around the circle, the screaming creature and the materials.

"Come on for Momma," she hissed and the light flashed.

The creature in the center of the circle looked up at the woman and tilted its head as it tried to stand.

"Mommy?" it whispered in a weak, soft nearly feminine voice.

In the corner the Marcus-chimera was curled up, his misshapen limbs over his head as eyeless sockets were clenched as closed as they could be. Harsh barking sobs were pulled from his no longer human throat as the voice of a dead relative whispered in the chamber.

AN: What do you think? Want to beat me up for another cliffy ending? Still, I had so much fun with this chapter. However…I think this story may be coming to a conclusion soon. Give me some loving before it does, let me know what you think.


	11. Suspect Revealed

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA but if I did, Ed, Roy, and Scar would all have much less clothing that was MUCH more fitting.

11 – Suspect Revealed

The little boy with light brown hair and gold eyes giggled as his mother carried him down the street his large eyes shining like gold as she kissed his neck, making him giggle that shrill giggle only very young children could achieve.

"Mommy!" he cried as he wrapped his only arm around his mother's neck. Slowly the world around them swirled into darkness and the woman gasped as the small boy was in a hospital bed, his breathing labored as he looked at her through pain filled gold.

"It hurts, Mommy, why does it hurt?" he cried and the woman howled as she reached for the boy, only he was being pulled away or was she being pulled away? It didn't matter because he vanished into darkness and a creature that was not alive or dead, neither human nor corpse reached for her.

"Look at what you did to me!" he cried and hands unable to rot unable to heal wrapped around her throat and began to squeeze.

"Joshua!" she screamed.

"Joshua!" Woodgrove screamed as she sat up and was met by Envy's stare. She gasped a few times before managing a glare. "And you would like something, Sin?" He smiled as he looked at her, his long dreads slowly vanishing behind the photo-excrement that marked his transformation. Woodgrove stared at him, trying not to hyperventilate at the sight before her.

"Why did you do it?" Envy-Joshua asked and Woodgrove glared at the homunculus before smirking.

"Do what, Envy?" she asked, the terror of her nightmare still fresh as she stared at the image of her resurrected brother.

"Make that thing?" he stated as he pointed to the creature in the corner that stared at her before staring at its hand.

"We need a distraction for that bitch, that will do," she explained and he glared at the woman before shrugging.

"Then why did you make thing?" Envy-Joshua asked as he indicated his body.

"Make the Joshua homunculus?" Woodgrove asked with a strange tone.

"Yes, why did you make this, we found it in the woods, had to keep Gluttony from eating it," Envy replied and Woodgrove looked away.

"I don't think I'll respond to that question," she stated as she got up and stretched, there was an audible pop and she winced. Envy noticed the way she sighed, it was an old pain, how boring it must be to be human.

"Should we have let Gluttony eat it then?" Envy asked and the Detective shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, I'd have thought it would be nothing but dust by now," she sighed.

"Oh no, it was delicious, full of alchemy and decay," Gluttony giggled as he appeared a moment before Lust.

"Was it now?" Woodgrove muttered and the more intelligent homunculi noticed the way her brow quirked before she headed into the next room, the creature following her, making whimpering noises.

Ed stared at the creature as it walked around the cell, the woman was bathing Havoc and from the grunts and moans, she was doing more than just cleaning his lower areas. Ed was trying to ignore that as best he could as he stared at the creature, it looked human enough, save for the mark on the back of the neck, hidden behind the light brown hair.

It moved around the room, touching and stroking things, slowly getting closer and closer to Ed. His hair stood up on end as it stroked the headboard. His eyes widened as flesh that looked alive but felt dead stroked his forehead as empty eyes regarded him.

"Get away from him," the woman snapped and Ed fought the urge to close his eyes around the living corpse even at the sight of Havoc's semen across her chin. The creature moved quickly, more agile than he thought it could. It stared at Ed and his skin wanted to crawl.

Maes and Tom made a great team, Roy felt a bit put out his best friend had made another buddy as if their mission was completed. Still, it was funny to watch the two men sing the rather dirty drinking song together, the whole thing, all five verses, even better to see Hawkeye and Armstrong blushing like schoolgirls at some of the language.

"Are you two quite done?" VanBuren growled as she glared at the group from over her pile of paperwork.

"Well, I'm out of juice so I suppose I'll go wander," Tom said and for once Roy caught that planning look on Maes face.

"We'll accompany you," Roy said and Maes smirked, okay, maybe that planning look was planned for Roy, damn, he was feeling so clever too.

"Alright, the more the merrier," Tom said and the group gathered their jackets, opening the door to find Al.

"Alphonse, where have you been?" Hawkeye asked and the suit of armor stood there.

"I found something we might want to check," Al stated, watching VanBuren as she screamed into a phone at someone. "Come on." With that the group left.

Lust stared at the target, her eyes never leaving the woman as she worked. Gluttony rested his head in her lap and Lust glared at him, she hated it when he did that, he always left drool stains on her dress.

The target was agile for her state and Lust looked at the similarities between her and Woodgrove. The physicals were a similar shaped face, that hair, and most definitely the voice. Lust looked at Gluttony as he yawned, his breath stank of carrion, she hoped he hadn't eaten a house pet again, that always brought about suspicion.

Envy watched Woodgrove as she worked with the creature, it was slow but intelligent, it learned the tricks she taught it and eagerly ate the treats she offered. Envy felt sick when she hugged it. The horrid laughter the creature emitted would haunt Envy for the rest of his unnatural life.

"Why am I here?" he asked and she ignored him for the millionth time before standing up.

"You're not going to be for long. That body you found, I want you to watch it. I suspect that it's going to be found soon and I'd like you to come and tell me the moment our dear friends find it," Woodgrove stated, pulling some pins from her hair. "I'm going to get ready."

"Ready for what?" Envy asked and Woodgrove looked at him.

"The end of this whole mess," she stated calmly before entering a room with the creature, the door vanishing in a blast of alchemic light.

"Hmmm," Envy sighed before heading out of the lab.

The group entered the clearing, surprisingly, Tom was the one to lead, not Al, as if he knew where they were going.

The body was face down, the bare back exposed that something had been chewing on it, something with a big mouth. The simple black pants were from an old military outfit. The light blond hair was mostly dark, as if it had been buried not long before they had arrived. The tanned skin was dirty, covered with clumps of mud.

The group stood around the body and Tom pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and covered his mouth and nose before turning the body over. The face was handsome and very similar to Tom's. Who was currently on the ground, scurrying back away from the body with a look of abject horror on his face.

"That's not possible!" he hissed, the color rushing from his face so fast that Roy was certain he was going to pass out. "Joshua's been dead for nearly ten years, he should be nothing but bones!"

"Joshua, as in your brother?" Hawkeye asked as she approached the body. The face was peaceful, dirt was clumped on the eyelashes. However, it was not his face she was looking at, but a large hole in his chest, about the size of a fist, there were strange burns all around it. "I thought he died in Ishbal."

"That's just it! He did! Joshua died in Ishbal with the first of the troops sent in to suppress the uprising. But that's him!" Tom hissed as he managed to get to his feet.

"That mark on his chest, did he have a tattoo?" Al asked and the group stared at the mark. The Oruboros was wound around the symbol of resurrection. Tom stared at the mark.

"No, Joshua didn't have a tattoo," Tom whispered as he looked at the corpse. "Still, I didn't want to believe her." That caught some attention.

"Who is this her?" Maes asked, even though he had a good idea.

"Angel, a few years ago, about the last time I came home, she told me that she did something that wasn't possible. When I asked her…she told me she killed something that was once our brother. I thought she was joking, but…this thing…" Tom's eyes were haunted. "…this is Joshua, the scar along his temple, I gave him that, only I would know it was there." The various military members looked close, and so faint, you wouldn't know it unless you looked closely at the edge of the hairline, there was a line of pure white, even under the dirt.

"This is your brother," Al stated in a cold voice. "This isn't a proper homunculus though, it was cheated somehow."

"But how?" Roy muttered as he looked at the mark, the mark was part of the array, he had no doubt about that. Still, how could a body be perfectly resurrected.

"She said it was him," Tom whispered as he got up. "She told me she checked the grave after and it was empty. Whoever did this, used his real body." Roy and Al, both knowing a bit about human alchemy froze.

"That could explain the physical likeness, but what was he like mentally?" Al wondered aloud.

Woodgrove sat in the dark, her eyes on her creation, too much like the Joshua-thing she had destroyed years ago. Envy had told her they had found the body, her eyes closed. Dealing with homunculi, Hohemheim had to be laughing at her from somewhere, still, they were proving to be useful, even if annoying. She sat in the dark while the creature chattered at her, it was disgusting to use her alchemy in such a way, but when fighting fire, you had to use fire, how lucky was it the Flame Alchemist was in Laketon. Still, the memories came unbidden.

"An….gel," the creature stated as it approached a younger Angelina Woodgrove, its face in some attempt at joy. "An….gel." It was clearly work to talk and the seasoned cop dropped her gun as she backed away from what she thought was the Lion-eyed Killer.

"No…" the breath left her in a shuddered gasp, her hands over her mouth as she shook her head.

"An…gel," the effort that went into those two syllables was felt through her entire torso. "Help….me." Then horror grew to terror, for those that never experienced the two, it is impossible to understand the sight of seeing a beloved family member, alive and dead in the same moment, begging for help.

"It's not possible!" she hissed and the creature walked over to her, the movement of the body was fine, it was clear that more time had been spent on the muscles than the vocal cords and internal speech organs, including the diaphragm.

"Plea….se….help….me….An…gel…" the effort that went into the message was enough. The creature stood up and handed her the gun again. "On…ly….ho…pe….plea…se….kill….me…" The expression on her face made her seem like a hideous mask meant to scare others.

"No…Joshua…" she sobbed, the gun shaking in her hands as the cold but living flesh of the creature moved her right hand to the pocket where she had always kept her chalk and slowly she realized the truth.

"Alchemy….I have to use alchemy to do it…" the realization was met by some unrecognizable emotion in the reanimated corpse eyes before her. For a moment she realized it was relief.

"Plea…se…" it whispered and she nodded as she opened the clip, pulling a bullet from the chamber.

"I will, Joshua, I'll set you to rest," she whispered as she drew a circle on the bullet, she could only guess from the mark on his bare chest what exactly she had to ask from her alchemy, but it should be enough to put her brother to peace. The clip was emptied and she placed the single bullet back in. The gun cocked and she stared at her brother.

"An…gel…" he whispered and she knew the tears were running down her cheeks more than felt them.

"I can't do this, Joshua, I can't kill you!" she sobbed, the gun bouncing with the movement of her shoulders with her sobs. An icy cold hand stroked her cheek.

"You…can…you…are…strong…gest….you…can….An…gel…" it whispered. The look in its eyes was so close to the look they held in life.

"I love you, Joshua, I missed you so much. I'm sorry," she closed her eyes as she pushed the barrel into his chest, below his sternum.

"I…love…you…An…gel…we…will…see…each…oth…er….a…gain…" the message was ended with another brush of cold hand to her cheek. Then the loud explosion of the alchemy infused bullet escaping the pistol.

Angelina 'Angel' Woodgrove dropped her gun and then fell to her knees before the body of her brother. She drew a circle on the ground, making a shallow grave. It would have been deeper, but her eyes were blurred by the constant tears.

"Come," the woman said and the creature looked at her before nodding. "Time to make our enemies scream. Don't worry Alexander, Marcus, Mommy will make that Traitor scream apologies, she will regret crossing me. She should have given up long ago."

Ed stared at the woman, that look was in her eyes, that enraged, insane look that meant pain, however, this time pain was meant for someone besides Ed and Havoc.

The figures of the two chimeras and the Marcus-chimera stood in the doorway.

"Say good bye to Alexander and Marcus, Pets," the woman ordered as she took the creature's hand, leading it out of the room. The two chimeras muttered good byes and Ed wondered if they were going to suffer with their lives for this woman's madness, not that they hadn't suffered enough.

"I am sorry, Replacements," the Marcus-chimera whispered and Ed wondered what he was sorry for.

Tom sat on the grass as he retold his sister's experience with the Joshua-thing, his eyes closed as he used one hand to massage the bridge of his nose, the other dangled between his legs as he rested its elbow on his raised knee.

"She told me it while we were drunk and I thought it was a side effect of her medication and the alcohol, but now, dear God, she's been holding this in for so long," Tom whispered.

"I only know of one alchemist who dealt with using alchemy to reanimate dead cells, I think her name was Angela Winter," Roy muttered, only Maes noticed the way Tom's body froze up.

"Angela Winter was our mother," Tom whispered. "We all studied her work, Angel and Catherine debated it for weeks on end."

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

"Angel stated that you couldn't bring back the person, only the memories physically stored in the brain," he whispered, staring at the corpse. "Catherine couldn't accept our mother could be wrong and said you could bring back a person. However, I thought it was just a memory hiccup. She didn't say anything the day after anyway."

"We should have a talk with Detective VanBuren," Maes stated and the group nodded.

Envy, Lust, and Gluttony watched as Woodgrove and the creature drew arrays on the building, each one made with loving care.

"What will this do?" Envy asked and Woodgrove smiled.

"Leave a trail of breadcrumbs," she whispered, moving on to the next array. The creature's arrays were sloppy and running into hers, but that was to be expected.

VanBuren was not happy when the group walked in, her eyes were flashing as she glared at her brother.

"She's started several fires," VanBuren growled. "The buildings were all empty and in the Hollows but what I loved was the pattern that the houses made.

"What was the pattern?" Tom asked, the look on his face was set since they buried the Joshua-thing's remains.

"They made an arrow into the graveyard," VanBuren huffed, her hand alternating rubbing her belly and back.

"Sit down, Catherine, you're getting worked up and might risk the baby," Tom stated and the woman's face drained of color, she quickly sat down. Slowly her brother knelt in front of her. "Breathe with me." The two did a similar breathing exercise before VanBuren pointed to the wall, the map of the Hollows was there with dots that clearly made an arrow towards the graveyard.

"Why the graveyard?" Tom whispered.

"Not the regular graveyard, it's pointing to a certain grave," VanBuren whispered. The group remained quiet as Tom's eyes widened.

"Have you checked it?" Tom hissed and VanBuren shook her head.

"I was waiting for you…I didn't trust any of my men," VanBuren whispered.

"Who's grave?" Hawkeye ended the spell and the two siblings shared a look.

"Angel had been fighting with our mother before her son died," Tom stated.

"It was big, Mother went so far as to deny Angelina the right to bury her son in the family crypt," VanBuren whispered.

"So Angel had him buried on a spot of land she picked out, the far end of the graveyard, very few graves, she used to take him there for picnics," Tom whispered.

"Let's go see why she's left us a trail," Roy stated and VanBuren shook her head.

"I'll stay here, it'll look suspicious if I vanish," she whispered and for a moment, Roy could see the worry and the guilt. VanBuren was regretting her accusation of her sister. Still, he wasn't quite convinced that the runaway detective wasn't the kidnapper, she certainly fit the profile.

"Sounds fine to me," Tom said before walking to the door.

"I'll lead the way," he stated before heading out the door. Al looked at the map before realization slowly dawned on him.

Envy watched the woman climb the tree, her body firm and toned, he would have to try out her form in detail later on. She looked at wherever it was she was leading them.

"I wonder what she's up to?" he muttered and Lust shrugged.

"As long as we save the Fullmetal brat from death I don't care," Lust stated and Gluttony nuzzled her legs. Envy often wondered what it was about Lust that had Gluttony all over her like some amorous puppy. She barely tried to push him away when the Midnight Alchemist landed on the forest floor.

"So what's the plan?" Envy asked and she looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"She's got at least two chimeras wandering the grounds, she's sitting on her porch," there was a tone.

"Is something wrong with that?" Lust asked and Woodgrove nodded.

"She hates being outside, she'd only wait on the porch when expecting company," Woodgrove whispered.

"Does that change the plan?" Envy asked and Woodgrove nodded.

"We're not going to attack before Mustang's group arrives. We're going to stay back and wait," Woodgrove stated and the group moved into the darkness, the human blending with the homunculi and her creature.

Ed felt the alchemy around him, something powerful was being set up. Alchemy was specific, you could almost feel the difference between alchemists when they were using their skills. He could feel at least two people performing alchemy and he wondered, was rescue finally on its way.

The grave was open, the ground bulging at the side like it was about to burst, but Roy knew that alchemy had opened the grave, the dirt pushed to the side, causing the bulge.

"Oh my God," Tom whispered as he stared at the open, empty coffin. "His body's gone. Who would do that?"

"Do you think it's possible Detective Woodgrove lost her mind, taking the child to reanimate since she knows it is possible?" Armstrong asked and Tom shook his head.

"Angel would never disturb her son's body, she told me that night that the Joshua-thing, wasn't him. Like a reflection without a mirror. She told me that if she ever found another like him she'd kill it before it could speak. Someone's out to get her," he whispered as he took a step from the grave and Maes looked down.

"There's a letter in the grave," he stated as he climbed down. "This looks new."

"It is. I helped her take the body out," Al whispered and the group stared at him in shock.

"Alphonse, why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Hawkeye demanded and the metal armor shuddered.

"I don't know, I guess, I had to tell Winry and Aunt Pinako. I wasn't sure what to tell you, especially since she thought I was someone else," Al whispered.

"Al, I think you better tell us everything from the beginning," Roy stated and soon enough they knew what Al knew.

The woman sat on her chair waiting, the Traitor was coming. She could smell the bitch as she rocked back and forth. Her eyes studied the forest, the Traitor wouldn't come from the forest, oh no, that bitch was smart, was clever, too clever.

"Took after her father," the woman hissed and the Marcus-chimera shivered behind her. The creature was sitting at his feet, playing with his deformed foot.

"What do you want me to say, Mother?" he asked and the woman hissed.

"I want you to tell me if you smell her," she growled and he lifted his nose, highly attuned from a near decade without his eyes. The air particles sifted along the sensitive membrane in his nose. Then there was the scent of roses and lilies.

"Well?" she demanded and the Marcus-chimera whimpered.

"She's close," he whispered and the woman laughed.

"Oh, Angelina, you will regret coming after me," the woman chuckled, it made the Marcus-chimera's hair stand on end, all over his body. Her hand reached out to stroke the soft, fine hair of the creature.

Tom stared at Al, his eyes wide and the look of disbelief and horror showed.

"What is it? Do you recognize the description?" Al asked and Tom nodded.

"It's not possible, but…it's not impossible," he whispered.

"I'm pretty sure whatever you're thinking is possible," Roy stated and Tom looked up, not very pleasant.

"We have little to no time if Angel let us know about this," Tom stated. "I know where the kidnapper has to be. This way!" He ran into the woods and the group followed him. Maes was glad he had his extra blades on him while Hawkeye was wishing she had brought more then seven clips. Al was hoping beyond hope that Ed was alive.

Woodgrove drew the circle in the ground and when she placed her hands on it a hole appeared, no light, only a hole. She drew a circle and the creature drew it. A plain shackle was on her ankle and she drew the circle on it. The creature drew the circle on her shoe and she made the negative sign. The creature drew the circle on the shackle and she gave it a treat.

"What are you doing?" Envy asked and the woman looked up at him.

"Getting Edward Elric free," she explained before doing it again. She began speaking to the creature and it began to imitate her voice.

"You are the ones Mother spoke about," a voice hissed and the group froze. "If I bring your heads to Mother, she'll make me human again." With that the chimera struck.

The Marcus-chimera shivered before scenting various people, one had the scent of flora and gunpowder, another had the scent of books and a child, another of sweat and healthy foods, one of armor, another of ash, and the last held the scent of foreign spices and an underlying odor of sweaty leather.

"Thomas," he whispered and the woman sat up.

"Thomas!" she hissed and then there was the sound of a chimera screaming in attack. "No, not now! Thomas wasn't supposed to be here!"

"He is," the Marcus-chimera whispered, secret dark joy filling his empty soul at the thought of his mother getting her just deserts by the Traitors.

Woodgrove shoved the creature down the hole and turned to the chimera as Lust attempted to pierce it with her claws, strangely her claws couldn't pierce it and Woodgrove stared before she realized.

"It may look like a mix of only two creatures, but there are three and I'd bet money that one was an armadillo," she cried and Lust snarled as she fought the chimera as it attacked again. It barely avoided Gluttony's mouth, animal instincts obviously letting it know that the small creature was very dangerous.

"Take care of it!" Woodgrove hissed as she closed the hole behind her creature.

"Take care of the one responsible!" Lust shot back right as the second chimera attacked.

There was a large explosion and the group ran faster towards what looked like a large farmhouse, something from the old days when wealthy landowners could sit on their porches and watch the poor people that worked for them labor over their crops.

Several trees burned around the front of the house and the group stared at two forms faced off across from each other. Both about the same height as they stood in the center of the yard, fires burning around them.

"Angel!" Tom cried and Armstrong grabbed him as the two women turned to look at them. Woodgrove was clearly the one in the tight black, leather outfit, looking completely ready for battle. The other woman looked almost identical to Woodgrove, save for about twenty more years of life. The woman's hair was black, dead, dull black, unlike Woodgrove's hair, which looked as red as dried blood in the dusk and firelight. This woman had eyes of a light brown, something that could never be mistaken for the burning gold of Woodgrove's eyes.

"It's not possible," Tom cried and the woman smiled, it was clearly the smile of a disturbed individual.

"But it is Thomas," the woman chuckled in a voice the matched Woodgrove's perfectly.

"Who is she?" Roy demanded as Tom stared at the woman in complete and utter horror.

"She could be Detective Woodgrove's twin," Hawkeye whispered and there was a huff from said Detective.

"Hardly, Lieutenant Hawkeye," Woodgrove stated as she stared at the woman and the military group stared at the two as they faced off.

"Who is she?" Roy demanded, losing all semblance of calm.

"Why don't you show some manners, Angelina," the woman chuckled, it was dark and distorted.

"Fine then," Woodgrove stated in a cool and calm voice. "Roy, Alexander, Riza, and Maes, may I introduce to you Angela Woodgrove, my mother."

AN: Sorry I took so long getting this out, but my grandfather passed away April 27th and needless to say, I've been busy. I've finally gotten back to writing.  
I hope you're all shocked. That's right, Woodgrove is innocent, it's her mother, who if you remember 'died' on the lake, meaning Marcus is Woodgrove, Tom, and VanBuren's little brother, Baby. Go back and look it up, if you look at the explanation for her mother's death you'll see it's fishy, plus there was the photo of Baby's funeral where Woodgrove is glaring at her mother. So, did I blindside you? Did anyone actually catch those hints? If not, can anyone guess what's going to happen next? I bet some of you can.


	12. A Mother's Grief

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but if I did…I think there would be a lot more time spent on Roy and Scar…oh…and Ed would be 18 *winks*

12 – A Mother's Grief

~*~

Roy assesses the situation, the two women are at a standstill and Roy can barely make out the ash on Woodgrove's black bodysuit. She was hit by a blast of flame, of that he has no doubt, however, the material had to be tough because she wasn't showing any signs of pain. Of course, Roy knew soldiers that were shot and kept fighting unaware that there were a holes the size of their fists leaking blood out their backs.

Woodgrove looked different, tired, and somewhere deep inside, Roy understood her exhaustion. Perhaps when he dreams were realized he would have that same look of relief and alertness that graced Woodgrove's face.

"You should have kept out of it, Angelina," Angela Winter-Woodgrove stated and Woodgrove smirked at her mother.

"Why would I do that? Especially when you took something that belongs to me," the voice was cold and her Mother smirked. Roy was disturbed.

Ed felt the alchemy and was confused by the lack of light. There was a scurrying in the darkness and then a voice, misshapen and inhuman that spoke. It was not like the Nina-Alexander, but like a parrot's voice given to something without a beak.

"I come help you, Elric," it spoke and Ed jerked his head, glowing eyes looked at him as something small and furry scurried over his chest and under his arm. There was the scratching of something on his shackle.

"Touch," the voice spoke and Ed blinked. He touched the shackle. Small…hands…moved his fingers and Ed focused on it. It was a transmutation circle. Ed pressed his fingers and concentrated. There was the sharp flash of light and Ed pulled his arm free. The creature was by his foot, the scraping sound repeated. "Touch." Ed quickly touched the shackle and again he was freed. Something was shoved into his hand, the familiar feeling of chalk was a welcomed relief to Ed as he drew on his gag and the horrid thing was turned into a torch. Something else was placed in his hand and Ed smirked as he placed the torch in the crook of his leg, lighting it with his hand.

Ed saw his 'savior' and screamed.

Envy leapt out of the way as the second chimera struck the ground where he was standing. It hissed before mandibles extended to the sides of its mouth, it had several sharp, canine teeth and now a pair of razor sharp pinchers.

"Moffer, will finally free us wiff your deaffs," the chimera cried with a very noticeable lisp since its lips were pulled so taunt by the mandibles.

"I'd love to see you try," Envy laughed and stopped the second the webbing shot from out of the chimera's mouth and around his ankles, causing him to fall backwards off the tree branch he was on. "What is this?!"

"You ffought you were so smart," the chimera hissed, spitting more webbing out around the sin.

"Stop that you stupid animal!" the homunculus cried as he struggled, trying to change form only to find the webbing stuck to him in smaller forms and became far too tight in larger forms.

"Go to the soldiers," the other chimera stated, charging Lust and avoiding Gluttony. "He won't get free without these ones." The one fighting Envy nodded before smiling at him.

"You hang around, Moffer will want to speak wiff you," it chuckled before rushing off at the inhuman speeds it possessed. Envy glared at the creature before struggling some more.

"Get me down!" he cried and watched as Lust's claws reached for him only to collide with the first chimera as it blocked her from Envy. "Oh, this is just wonderful."

The fires burned as the two women faced each other, Hawkeye moved to take a clear shot.

"I would not advise that, Riza," Woodgrove stated, her eyes never leaving her dame. "This is my fight and if you dare step in, I will make you regret it."

"That's my lovely daughter," Dame Woodgrove chuckled and the younger Woodgrove snarled.

"I was never really yours and you know it!" the Younger Woodgrove screamed, stomping her right foot and causing a blast of alchemy to hit the ground, resulting in the Dame Woodgrove to be flung into the air.

"Insolent child, I will make you regret going against me when I was being to reform the family!" the Dame's voice shrieked and there was a blast of alchemy and the wind threw the younger Woodgrove towards a fire!

"They're dead!" the Younger cried before throwing herself into the air and causing another movement of the earth, moving the flaming tree out of her way.

"Roy, I have no idea how to make this a non-fatal situation," Maes stated and Roy nodded.

"I have no doubt by the end of today there will be one less member of the Woodgrove family, at least," Roy stated and Tom looked at him, pulling out his own gun.

"Thomas, don't play with guns, you know I hate roughhousing from my boys! Take care of him!" the Dame cried and all were shocked when a creature of feline, aviator, and human rushed the man, knocking him to the ground before grasping his gun in its malformed hand and one nearly perfect feline paw the size of a lion's.

"What the hell?" Tom cried and the creature crushed the gun as if it was tin foil.

"Sorry, Tom," the creature whispered and the group stared at its face, the ragged scars around the sockets told them all, its eyes had been removed in a very painful manner.

Havoc stared at the creature as Ed shrieked. At first he thought it was human as well, but then the long simian tail waved around and Havoc tried to get Ed's attention. Quickly, the Fullmetal Alchemist was back, placing the torch so that the room was somewhat lit and the simian creature approached him, reaching for the chalk to run over to Havoc and begin drawing circles.

"Free the captives," it chirped and Ed slowly realized what this tiny chimera was. The wings folded on its back matched the exotic blue fur the creature now possessed. "Touch. I come help you Elric." It was a decent imitation, a real talking chimera, but Ed doubted that this one could understand as well as form original sentences.

"Yea, yea," Ed muttered as he began to drag himself across the floor. It was hard and Ed's body was not used to such movement since his captivity. He was shocked at how tired he was as he crawled toward Havoc. The creature stared at him, the fur-feathers ruffling at the neck to make it look like its little head was about to explode. The creature scurried over and began pulling Ed, not that it could do much. It was just nice to have the encouragement.

"Touch. I come help you Elric. Free the captives," the creature cried and Ed panted as he reached Havoc's bedside. He looked back at his bed, it was only a few meters, but without an arm and a legs and two weeks worth of inactivity, Ed was surprised to have made it that far without stopping.

Lust was very sick of the chimera, it had played one long game of Keep Away and it didn't seem to be planning on giving up any time soon. Things had gone from bad to worse, when it realized that Gluttony had a difficult time getting up if knocked onto his back.

"Would you hurry up!" Envy cried and Lust glared at him before being thrown into a tree as the chimera chuckled.

"This is fun, Mother never lets us have this much fun," it giggled as it threw itself at Gluttony again, knocking the smaller homunculus to his back, for the fifteenth time. "I will miss this, but human form is much more appealing."

"Funny, we're thinking the same thing," Lust hissed as she caged the chimera between her ten claw blades. However, the chimera was stronger than Lust's blades over such a distance and quickly charged her again, throwing her into Gluttony before laughing and situating itself under Envy's hanging form.

The eyeless creature quickly moved back, behind Dame Woodgrove, its body was horribly malformed, the lumps and angles spoke of things being where they didn't belong.

"Go back to ffe house, I'll take over!" a voice screamed before another chimera leapt over the eyeless one and stood over Tom, snapping its mandibles.

"Do not touch him!" Dame Woodgrove stated, circling her daughter. "He is one of the Family!" The chimera looked at him before looking up at Armstrong.

"Ooo, a big one!" it giggled before jumping at the Major only to find itself caught in the large hands of the man. "Let go!" A semi human clawed hand raked the Major's arm, causing the chimera to fall to the ground before growling.

"Sir?" Hawkeye asked and Roy nodded.

"Put it out of its misery," Roy stated and Hawkeye took a shot only to have the chimera charge her, knocking her down the road before racing at Maes.

"He's fast," Maes stated as he jumped out of the way, allowing Armstrong to try grabbing the chimera in a different way.

The two Woodgroves circled each other, ignoring the screams and cries and commotion all around them as they moved like the predators they were.

"Oh, Angelina, you had so much promise," Dame Woodgrove sighed before throwing a piece of cardboard that was shining with alchemic light. The explosion rocked the ground and Dame Woodgrove snarled when she saw the wall of rock that bore the mark of the explosive.

"You forgot who took the lesson of throwing circles to heart, Mother-dearest!" Woodgrove cried and what looked like a simple playing card flew over the wall, however, the glowing transmutation circle on the card caused a rather large explosion of its own. Dame Woodgrove was standing on a pillar of rock above the explosion as Woodgrove's wall crumbled and the Detective threw several cards at the pillar causing a massive explosion that caused the pillar to collapse as Woodgrove ran for safety as Dame Woodgrove hit a tree with one of her cards, causing it to grow and catch her from the deadly fall.

"I had not forgotten, but I wonder how many cards you have at your disposal, Dearest Angelina," Dame Woodgrove cried as she hit the circle and the tree transformed, allowing her to step off the branch onto the ground.

"Please, Mother-dearest, I was always well prepared for battle," the Detective stomped the ground with one boot clad foot, causing a wave of earth to roll at Dame Woodgrove.

"I have underestimated you," Dame Woodgrove hissed and the Detective smirked as a tree seemed to sprout from nothing in front of said Dame, protecting her from the wave of earth.

"I didn't underestimate you!" Woodgrove screamed as she hit a circle on her arm, causing the flames from the nearest fire to rise and rush at the tree, turning it to ash to reveal that Dame Woodgrove was no longer hidden behind it. "Shit!"

"Such foul language, I certainly didn't teach you that!" Dame Woodgrove cried as she leapt at her daughter.

"Thank God!" Havoc hissed as his gag was removed and he threw it across the room. Ed nodded as he looked around the room, trying to find out the creature had gotten in, then he saw the small tunnel opening over the tub, there was no way either he or Havoc could fit. Plus, the dirt falling into the room from the tunnel gave Ed a good hint that the tunnel had collapsed. "So what do we do now?" Ed looked at Havoc and the piece of chalk in his hand.

"I'll open the door," Ed sighed and then looked at the floor. His pride was caught in his throat. How could he ask Havoc to carry him? Ed didn't ask people for help.

"Well?" Havoc asked and Ed glared.

"You want to go naked?" Ed snapped before he began drawing on the sheet, it was taunt under them, making it easy to draw the circle on it.

"I've gotten a bit used to it," Havoc laughed, the tension in his voice was enough. Ed touched the circle and it changed the sheet into a pair of pants, they'd been thin, easy to rip, but thick enough to hide most of Havoc's unmentionables.

"There," Ed sighed and Havoc pulled on the pants before pulling Ed's sheet of his bed and making it taunt next to Ed.

"You might want some pants, I'm not sure that shirt is going to hide much downstairs," Havoc stated and Ed nodded, soon he was struggling to get into his own pants, one leg a cut off deal for his stump. "Here." Havoc helped and there was that awkward silence that often accompanied a moment of 'hey, I forgot you're not like me and now I don't know what the fuck to say'. "How should I carry you to the door?" Ed bit back a sigh of relief, Havoc might not be the first person he'd chose to have this kind of ill eased moment with, but the man had handled it well.

"My arm over your shoulders, I can help support myself with my foot, but when it comes time to draw, I'll lean on the door to draw the circle, then I'll need to lean on you when I activate it," Ed stated as Havoc leaned down. The creature suddenly crawled up Ed's leg, along their arms and onto Havoc's shoulder.

"Get away from the house. Free them. Touch. Touch. Get away from the house," The creature chattered as it opened and closed its wings. That's when Ed felt the blast of alchemic energy.

Roy struggled with the webbing that had trapped his arms to his sides, covering his hands. Currently Armstrong and the chimera were battling it out. Armstrong was holding the creature's head away from himself, preventing his own entanglement in the webbing. Still, Tom was stuck to a tree, while Maes was trying to cut himself out of his own cocoon and Hawkeye was cleaning her gun as fast as she could. Al was taking the brunt of the chimera's claws, holding the front paws in his hands while loosing his helmet under a layer of webbing.

Slowly, Roy watched as the other chimera, who had been on the porch slowly approached. It kept one ear on the battle between the two Woodgroves. Roy tried to back away only to trip and find himself on the ground as the creature moved over him.

"Will you save Angel?" the creature asked and Roy froze. VanBuren's voice spoke to him 'Thomas, Joshua, and Daniel always called Angelina Angel, I wasn't in on the joke.' Roy stared at the sightless creature that hovered over him, like a nervous animal ready to flee.

"Are you Daniel?" he asked and the chimera shook its head.

"Wrong brother," it whispered and Roy's eyes widened.

"Baby…" Roy whispered. There was a strange facial movement around the mouth and Roy slowly realized it was a sad smile, horribly transformed by the presence of the beak and fangs.

"Aw, you can just call me Marcus," the chimera joked and Roy found respect for the poor, blind, crippled creature.

"I will do all I can to make sure Angelin…Angel survives this fight," Roy stated and the chimera stared at him with its eyeless sockets.

"I'll hold you to that," it hissed before a large, feline paw landed on his chest and found the juncture of his arm and torso, slowly and gently ripping away the webbing with talon-like claws. "Leave Tom, he needs to stay safe and out of it."

"I will," Roy stated as he found his arms free and the chimera leaning over Maes, probably giving the same speech from the look on Maes face. The two friends exchanged a look before Roy looked at the battlefield in shock.

Woodgrove and Dame Woodgrove were on the ground, Dame Woodgrove was over her daughter, hands wrapped around the younger woman's throat. The younger woman was gasping for breath while the older woman laughed.

"Once you are dead I'll bring you back, this time you'll be perfect. You won't be like Alexander made you. You'll be my work of art," Dame Woodgrove whispered into her daughter's ears. "Just like Joshua." With that there was a blast of alchemy and both women were air born. A card flew at Dame Woodgrove and the woman screamed in agony as fire erupted on her belly.

Detective Woodgrove landed on her hands and knees, one hand coming up to massage her throat as she coughed, Dame Woodgrove was rolling on the ground smothering the flames. The younger got to her feet and began to approached her mother before Dame Woodgrove pounded the ground, causing a hole to form under the younger woman, dropping her into the dark hole. There was no scream, no sound of a body exploding into blood and gore at the contact of the ground far below where she started her fall.

Dame Woodgrove approached the hole before hissing.

"Damn clever bitch!" the woman cried before turning around the clearing, several cards in her hands. "Come out, Angelina!"

"They always called me Angel!" Detective Woodgrove's voice cried out before light exploded from the ground and Dame Woodgrove threw her cards into the light. "Wrong way!" Several cards hit the ground by Dame Woodgrove's feet, causing the elder to fall into her own trap.

Ed and Havoc stopped on their way up the stairs, both were too drained from extended periods in bed with limited movement, plus while Ed was minus several pounds from the missing limbs, he was still pretty heavy and Havoc wasn't Armstrong.

"Up the stairs, through the hall, out the door, in the woods. Touch. Touch," the creature chirped. "I come help you, Elric."

"Yea, you have," Ed sighed, moving his hand to stroke a wing and the creature giggled in a way that would haunt Ed and Havoc the rest of their lives. "Man, how far down was that damn cell."

"I told you it smelt different," Havoc stated. "It was probably a subbasement."

"Great, more stairs after this," Ed sighed.

"I'm hauling more weight than you," Havoc stated and Ed glared.

"Oh so first I'm a shrimp, now I'm a fat shrimp!" Ed snarled, not dumb enough to try and hurt Havoc since that would probably end with an unpleasant fall down the stairs.

"Yea, a loud, fat shrimp, that pretty much describes you," Havoc chuckled and the creature giggled again.

"Loud, fat shrimp," it chuckled and Havoc laughed, Ed scowled at the creature.

"I mean it! Get me down!" Envy cried, his normally pale face was now quite red, while most people wouldn't think a homunculus could blush, hanging them upside down would cause all the blood in their bodies to start to pool in their heads just like any other creature with blood. Most of Envy's blood was in his head and while it was no longer painful, it was making him want to giggle and he did most definitely want to start giggling, because it was not funny.

"Stop your whining, we are trying," Lust stated, again foiled by the agile and very durable chimera that was laughing, making Envy want to laugh more.

"Try harder!" Envy cried, he was going to get a nosebleed soon. Suddenly the chimera began to scream and Envy did begin laughing as Gluttony began to eat the still living creature.

"Finally," Lust hissed approaching Envy and slicing him free from his webbing prison. Of course, doing that caused the sin to land on his blood filled head and start his nosebleed.

"Took long enoumph!" he grumbled as he held his nose shut for a moment. The color quickly draining as he took and upright position and found the loss of blood suddenly disturbing. Lust watched as Envy wobbled a bit in his sitting position and she wondered how long it would take for the advanced healing to cure the stubborn sin.

"That was delicious," Gluttony giggled, wiping his mouth and Envy glared at him.

"Well I have one more for your meal list," he snarled, pulling his hand away. He began licking the blood off his own hand as he looked at Lust. She smirked, he looked like a child who had not won his fight against the local bully. Envy glared at her, that expression made it clear she thought less of him even though he was her senior by centuries.

"So vengeful Envy, you really should have been named Wrath, it is so much more your sin," Lust chuckled and Envy glared at her, he knew the true reason for his name was not because of his lust for revenge on Hohemheim, but because of Edward Elric. He turned his train of thought back to business.

"Is it done?" Tom cried, still tied to his tree and the Detective shook her head.

"She's still alive," Woodgrove stated. The chimera looked at the hole and screamed.

"You killed her! You killed her!" it shrieked and a kick knocked Al away, blinded by webbing. "You killed her!" With a near miss at removing Armstrong's manhood, the chimera was free and running at Woodgrove. "I'll kill you!"

"I doubt it, you poor creature," the woman stated before throwing a card at the chimera's feet, throwing the monstrosity into the air to fall back deep in the forest.

"Angel?" a voice whispered and there was a surreal moment as Woodgrove looked up. Roy and the others could see her face completely, the chimera that had helped them behind her to the side.

Large gold eyes stared through them, beyond them, to something that no other living creature could possible see. The tears came without blinking, rolling down her cheeks in rivulets as her lips formed a surprised 'o'.

"B-b-baby?" she whispered, her body shaking and the chimera placed the more human hand on her shoulder.

"Angel," it whispered and the woman turned and for a moment all those present could swear they saw a younger woman embracing a young man who bore a striking resemblance to a young, missing alchemist.

"Marcus, what did she do to you?!" she sobbed and the chimera held her. Maes freed Tom and he approached the two.

"Marcus?" Tom asked and the chimera looked up, its empty sockets more proof than anything else. "Marcus!" The three held each other and their cries hurt the hearts of those with siblings.

"You two get to safety," Woodgrove ordered. "Take them with you!" This time the woman before them was clearly back in battle mode.

"We won't leave you," Tom stated and for a moment a look of annoyance that could only be expressed to a family member crossed Woodgrove's face before she shook her head.

"You are out of your league, you take Marcus to safety as well as the officers from Central," she ordered.

"No," the Marcus-chimera hissed and the two others turned to him. "I will help you, Tom must leave."

"You will go with Tom, I will find a way to save yo…" Woodgrove started but the Marcus-chimera shook his head vigorously.

"I cannot change back, Angel, she killed the other two," the Marcus-chimera sighed and Woodgrove looked at him.

"I might be able to find another way," she whispered, but Roy knew the sound of her voice was not hope but denial.

"Not without breaking the rules and those rules are too much for me to ever ask you to break," the Marcus-chimera sighed, one monstrous hand stroking her cheek. "Let me help."

"I don't want you to be hurt anymore…I mean…look what she's done to you so far," Woodgrove whispered and Tom slowly moved back.

"We better leave," he stated and Roy shook his head.

"We will stay," Roy stated and it was clear Tom was thinking about pulling rank. "We're still missing our…friend." Tom nodded.

"As touching as all this is I do believe someone must be punished!" the voice of Dame Woodgrove hissed like a hateful ghost and a slip of paper was flying at Detective Woodgrove. The Marcus-chimera was faster than Hawkeye's bullet, Roy's flames, or even Detective Woodgrove's attempt to block.

The chimera exploded, leaving behind a gore splattered Detective. This time, as blood ran down her face, the gold eyes positively glowed and the scream that escaped her lips was more like a war cry of some ancient and vicious beast.

Envy smirked as they saw the chimera as it shook its head and emerged from the foliage, it froze and growled at them before realizing something.

"You ate him!" it cried in abject horror, coming from a creature that had mandibles had to be a record for the homunculi. "Bastards!" With that the chimera began to demonstrate that while it was probably not as durable as its deceased comrade it was, however, far faster, making it that much harder to kill.

"Damn it! I'm ripping out your fangs and beating you to death with them!" Envy hissed, playing a game of leap frog with the chimera as Lust tried to stab it.

"You have to catch me first!" it snarled as it shot webbing at Envy, sticking him to a tree, however, Envy's arms were still free.

"When I'm done, I think I'll have a nice fur coat!" Envy chuckled as he ripped the webbing off of him.

"Unlikely," the chimera spat as it blasted Gluttony with webbing, making a lovely white ball of webbing.

"I really dislike this situation," Lust stated as she took another stab and missed, slicing through Envy's hair.

"Watch it!" he shrieked and Lust fought the urge to smirk, he was so sensitive sometimes.

Ed and Havoc stared at the room, they seemed transfixed by the horrors that resided on the mantle of the basement…study. The heads of five young men were perfectly preserved over the fireplace, empty eye sockets were the only thing ruining the image of the young men simply sticking their heads through holes in the wall. On the mantle was a jar, floating in the preserving fluids were a pair of eyes, the exact same gold as Ed's.

"We can leave now," he whispered and Havoc nodded as they passed a photo. In it a family was standing around a porch. A gangly boy was hugging a girl with the same gold eyes as in the jar, in the girl's lap was a little boy, probably only three, his right arm was nonexistent and there was a stump where his left leg should have been. His hair was a similar shade of blond to Ed's and his eyes…were in the jar. "That's him." Havoc looked at the picture and blinked.

"That's Detective Woodgrove, the woman trying to find you, that's her sister. This is her family!" Havoc cried staring. Two more girls were hugging on a lower step while two boys were obviously planning something bad next to them. Behind them stood a man that looked rather similar to Havoc and standing next to the woman who had been holding them captive. "It was her mother…it was her mother."

"We need to get out of here," Ed stated and they started up the next set of stairs.

"You killed Marcus, you resurrected Joshua and made me kill him, you turned Catherine against me, you turned Marcus into a chimera and ripped out his eyes, and you nearly killed Tom and me," Woodgrove stated, the fires around her making her eyes seem like part of the gold light in the deepening dark of night. "Anything else you'd like to confess to, Mother?"

Out of the darkness stepped the Dame Woodgrove, her eyes seeming more red than brown in the firelight. She was clearly hiding something, judging by the shit eating grin that was on her face, as if she'd already won.

"Only two things," the Dame Woodgrove stated.

"Go on," Detective Woodgrove growled.

"I killed Alexander," she smiled, it was something Al would carry to his grave.

"You killed Daddy?" the tone in Detective Woodgrove's voice was the type a person took on when the camel's legs were about to give.

"He was going to take Marcus to some specialist, really, take my baby away from me. I think not!" Dame Woodgrove continued to speak. "I faked Marcus' death…he didn't believe me, but he wasn't home for the funeral. He figured it out far too soon. I led him to Marcus, then I killed him. I never thought I'd miss the optimistic fool. Pity that."

"What is the other thing? You did say you had two more confessions," Woodgrove stated and it was in that moment Roy knew something very bad was about to happen.

"I made something especially for you, Angelina," Dame Woodgrove smiled.

Ed and Havoc looked at the hallway, each way led to a door. Both had a glass window fogged to look pretty, one showed the darkness of night, the other showed the golden-yellow light of flames.

"Colonel," they both whispered and the creature began to scream and it ran for the door hiding fire. It clawed at the door, screaming and slowly the two men moved towards the door.

"You always were so much like me, so devoted to your family. I know when you lost Matthew, it nearly broke your heart. I know when Alan deserted you, you were shattered. Sadly, I killed Alan, he came back, he wanted to make it up to you but he met me first. He admitted that to me before I took him out for a little lake voyage, he supplied the blood, that reptile supplied the excuse and I got away with murder…twice."

"You…you killed Alan…" there was the sound of something breaking inside of Detective Woodgrove.

"I felt horrible about that, so I decided to give you back your piece of Alan," Dame Woodgrove stated. "Besides, he was my first grandson."

"No…" the gasp the fell from Detective Woodgrove's lips sounded like the straw that broke the camel's back falling through the air. Dame Woodgrove stepped to the side and exposed the child, probably only five years old. Golden hair and eyes that matched Edward Elric's perfectly. He smiled at her, he hobbled, one leg slightly deformed and one arm missing.

"Mommy!" he cried in a voice full of joy and Angelina Woodgrove fell to her knees. Those present felt their hearts scream in terror at the pain the woman must be going through looking at the thing that was once her son, reborn as something not quite him.

"No…" the tears on her cheeks were back and this time with a completely torn look. The pain of seeing her son and knowing her mother's betrayals, clashed with the expression that only a parent could understand and Maes Hughes swore that if Woodgrove didn't kill her mother…he would.

"Mommy….missed…you…" the child spoke, hobbling over to the kneeling woman who was slowly shaking her head.

"Not Matt, not my baby," she whispered and the voice that escaped her throat was ragged, as if all the night she had mourned her son had been only a day prior. It was a horrid sound full of hope and despair. The child-thing stood before its mother and smiled.

"Mommy!" it cried, dropping its crutch and clinging to the woman. She didn't respond, slowly she stared up at the sky, her body convulsing. "I…missed….Mommy…"

"I….I missed you too….Matt," Woodgrove whispered as she buried her face into her once-son's neck, her arms slowly wrapping around his tiny frame.

AN: *smirks* So who saw that coming? Come on, people guessed it was Woodgrove's mother, who realized that Dame Woodgrove resurrected Woodgrove's son. Oh, and this explains to everyone why Woodgrove and her siblings always started off her husband and son's names as "Al…" and "Ma…". That's right Alan was Woodgrove's husband, and Matthew was her son! *smiles* Review and let me know what you think. Am I still slamming you with things you didn't expect or have you all gotten used to my style?


	13. The Cold Hand of Death

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, because if I did Roy would SOOOOO be wearing Ed's leather pants.

~*~

13 – The Cold Hand of Death

The group watched as Detective Woodgrove held her son's reanimated body and slowly she pulled away from him.

"For you, Angelina, I made him for you," Dame Woodgrove stated and the Detective glared at her mother.

"What's the price for this gift?" Detective Woodgrove asked and the Dame smirked.

"Smart girl. I want you to take him and leave. You'll have your son as a child forever," Dame Woodgrove stated.

"He won't age at all?" Detective Woodgrove asked and the Dame Woodgrove nodded.

"He cannot and you know that well," Dame Woodgrove stated before smirking at Detective Woodgrove.

"Matt, how do you feel?" Detective Woodgrove asked and the child-thing looked up at her before looking at his grandmother.

"It's…cold…Mommy," he whispered and slowly Detective Woodgrove stood up, her eyes on her son as she stroked his cheek. "I…want…to…go…back…." The tears fell into his golden locks and the Detective nodded.

"Mommy will make it feel all better," she whispered, placing a hand on her son's head and she looked at her mother. "I take Matt and leave. Assuming you won't kill Tom and Catherine?" Dame Woodgrove smirked more.

"Oh, I will kill them, bring them back as I did Joshua and your son. It will be easier to just accept the new Alexander and Marcus. The old ones needed work anyway," Dame Woodgrove chuckled.

"Mommy…I'm…cold…" the child-thing whispered and the Detective nodded.

"Is that a yes, Angelina?" Dame Woodgrove asked.

Envy hated chimeras, if he ever saw another chimera he would kill it quickly because it was just too much work to play with the sons of bitches. Lust couldn't free Gluttony because every time she tried the chimera would try and wrap her up.

"This has lost its amusement value," Envy growled, eyes flashing as the creature's ripped a hole in his kilt. "How annoying."

"Remember, we need the Fullmetal Shrimp alive, keeping this thing here and destroying it will result in his rescue," Lust stated nicking the creature and Envy smirked before assuming Scar's form and catching the creature, lifting it off the ground.

"Free Gluttony!" he hissed and the creature caught him in the neck with its claws, it was a bad wound, he fell to the ground, letting it go so it could charge Lust, hopefully finding itself on the wrong side of Gluttony's mouth.

"Matt," Detective Woodgrove whispered. "Do you want Mommy to make everything right?" The child-thing looked up and there was a strange light in his eyes.

"Yes…Mommy…" he whispered and there is a moment that seems surreal, as if Mother and Child can understand something no one else can.

"Close your eyes," Detective Woodgrove whispered and the little boy nods. "In answer to your question, Mother, is a big no!" Dame Woodgrove looks more than shocked. "Matthew, honey, never forget Mommy loves you, but you need to go to Daddy now." Suddenly, there is the sound of a gunshot and the group turned to look at Hawkeye only to see her hands were empty.

The sound of a body hitting the ground pulled them back to see the smoking gun in Detective Woodgrove's hand, the body of her son-thing on the ground, a happy little smile on his face.

"Did that feel good, Angelina?" Dame Woodgrove asked and Detective Woodgrove looked up with a snarl.

"I will never forgive you for this!" Detective Woodgrove screamed only to have her eyes widen as a card hit her.

Detective Woodgrove hit the ground…her left arm hit the ground two seconds later.

The chimera hit Envy, completely covering him in the webbing, there was no ripping this off. Envy began swearing until he heard the telltale sounds of a creature screaming in pain as it was impaled on several long, razor sharp spikes. Envy smirked in his cocoon of white webbing and then there was the sound of Lust crying out in pain.

"Stupid creature!" she screamed and then came the sound of something falling to pieces. Envy smirked more, sounded like the creature managed to piss off Lust before it died.

"Don't move!" Dame Woodgrove growled as she approached her daughter, who was on the ground trying to stop the flow of blood from her bloody stump.

"We have to do something," Maes stated and Roy scowled before the Detective looked over her shoulder straight at him, her shoulder up in the air, a clean target for flame.

"Die, Angelina!" Dame Woodgrove screamed right as something few at her face, screaming in an inhuman voice.

Roy didn't stop he snapped his fingers, the flames dancing across to sear the flesh of Angelina Woodgrove's shoulder, closing the blood vessels, possibly saving her life.

"What is that thing?" Maes hissed as a ball of fur, feathers, and fangs tore at the face of Dame Woodgrove, ripping her cheek to hamburger. Roy's eyes had a hard time following the creature, it had wings and a long simian tail, sharp claws, large eyes, and a bit of a beak. It was clearly part bird and part monkey.

There was a whistle and the creature took to the air as the bloody stump of Detective Woodgrove's severed arm hit Dame Woodgrove in the face.

"Beating the one that removed her arm with the lost limb…there has to be some irony in that," Hawkeye stated as they watched Detective Woodgrove bludgeon her mother with her lost arm. The creature was flying over the two, squawking its little head off.

Ed rested on the floor as Havoc ripped open the door to let the creature free. They had both watched in shock as the woman's arm had been blown off and were surprised that the little chimera had attacked the woman who had performed the explosion.

"The Colonel, Lieutenant Hawkeye, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, and Major Armstrong are here! So is Al and another officer I don't know!" Havoc cried. Ed looked up at him.

"Go get Al! He can get me out of here easier!" Ed hissed and Havoc nodded, bolting for the group.

Ed stared at the room, it seemed too normal to belong to the madwoman that had kept him as her replacement son.

The group stared at Havoc in shock, the two battling alchemists forgotten in the shock and relief of seeing their friend alive.

"Havoc?" Roy asked and Havoc stood at attention and saluted.

"Sir, sorry to be late reporting to duty, but we need to get Ed out of the house. He can't walk without help, he asked for Al," Havoc gasped and the group nodded. They turned to the house to see the dueling alchemists right in front of it. Detective Woodgrove keeping her mother from the house.

"I will make your death slow!" Dame Woodgrove cried, her eyes on the boy-child that was struggling inside of the doorway, his golden eyes wide with fear as he struggled to crawl away from her.

"I don't see that happening!" Detective Woodgrove hissed, her nail, ripping a circle into the flesh of her severed arm. "Catch!" With that, she threw the limb at her mother before diving over the porch and covering Ed with her body as the limb exploded, catching the front of the house on fire, collapsing the overhang of the porch and sealing off the front exit of the house.

Roy watched in horror as the fire quickly began to cover the house, moving far too fast.

"Brother!" Al cried as he ran towards the house. Stopping quickly as he gasped. There was a cocoon of stone, slowly opening to reveal a slightly burned, half naked Dame Woodgrove.

"She survived the blast," Havoc whispered, eyes reflecting back horror beyond anything Roy had seen since the Ishbal war.

Ed felt the hand tapping his cheek, slowly feeling the lap underneath him. His body hurt and he couldn't feel his right arm or left leg.

"Come on, Ed, wake up," the hand gently tapped his cheek again, quickly and lightly with the pads of all four fingers. The voice…the voice was filled with pain.

Slowly Ed opened his eyes and his whole body stiffened as he saw the woman that had kept him captive. She opened her eyes and smiled. No, there was no way this woman could be the one.

"Good boy, Ed," she stated, and he looked at her. There was a bloody stump where her left arm should have been. It was shiny and black, very obviously closed by fire.

"You're not her," he managed, coughing as he took in their surroundings. They were in the room, but it was half collapsed and the smoke coming through the rubble told Ed all to quickly the external side of the building was on fire.

"No, I'm Detective Woodgrove, I'm here to save you," she stated and Ed nodded as he tried to sit up, forgetting about his missing automail limbs. He looked up at her dust covered face as she placed him in her lap. "I'm getting us out of here, just let me move you." With practiced ease, she had his butt firmly placed against her upper thighs. Her one arm was around his waist and he gripped her arm with his hand.

"Have you done this before?" he asked and she chuckled, her breath across his shoulder in a gentle puff.

"My son, Matt, he had a bad leg, learned this method so that one day I could help him up when he was bigger," she sighed as her legs shifted so that they were under her. "I never got to use it on anyone but the instructor. Put your leg out in front of you, bending the knee. I'm going to lift you up. " Slowly she began to stand up, one leg moving under Ed, pushing him up, while the other brought her up and supported them both. Slowly, they got to their feet and she panted. Ed looked over his shoulder, her face was in a grimace of pain.

""Are you okay?" he asked, kicking himself over the stupidity of the question.

"Not really, but we don't have the time to worry about it," she hissed and she turned Ed around, he was facing her. "Wrap your arm around my neck and down my shoulder. We'll do this on threes, when I say three, lift yourself up with your arm, I'll support you as best I can with my arm. Lift your leg and I'll carry you as far as I can. It won't be far, but we'll move fast enough to get out before the fire. Sadly, I don't know if she's crazy enough to come after us." Ed quickly looked up at Detective Woodgrove.

"What do you mean? I thought you blew her to pieces!" he cried, hysteria beginning to work its way into his heart.

"Ed, honey, calm down. I didn't get her, she saw it coming and was building a shield. She'll be hurt, but I don't know how bad. Probably not enough to slow her down much," Woodgrove hissed.

"Mother, you have to let them go!" Tom cried from the tree he was still trapped to, Maes decided freeing the man would be the best and with a quick slash, Tom Woodgrove was free. Dame Woodgrove turned to face the group, from the waist up she was black with burns and soot, her hair was smoking, much shorter too. Her eyes glowed red in the fire light surrounding her. Her dress smoked as she stood there, bare breasted and clearly mad.

"No, Thomas, I will not let Angelina go unpunished this time. Just look what she's done to my home. She will pay for this…greatly pay for this," Dame Woodgrove hissed.

"Please, be reasonable, Mother!" Tom cried and Roy dove, knocking the man down before the flames flew at him.

"No, Thomas, I am reasonable, she killed my Joshua, she turned my Catherine against me, she turned you against me, she made me kill my little Marcus," the woman stepped towards the group.

"This has gone far enough!" Roy shouted. "I am…"

"Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, yes, I know all about you as well as Major Alexander Louis Armstrong the Strong Arm Alchemist," Dame Woodgrove said, her eyes looking over Roy as if he was some insect she was deciding whether to soil her shoe or go get a newspaper to dispose of. "You were one of the ones that served with my Daniel. He spoke of every alchemist he met in his letters. Sadly, Daniel was a bit weak willed, perhaps I'll take you alive and use you to revive my Daniel. Of course, you might give him too much will and then I'd have to dispose of him like my Alexander."

"You tried to bring back your husband?" Maes asked and Dame Woodgrove smiled.

"Oh yes, he was the first, I used a young buck that caught my eye in the bar one night. I took him quickly and brought him back here. I brought back my Alexander…sadly he was useless. He still wouldn't obey me, he wanted to find Angelina, as if she could stop me," Dame Woodgrove let out a laugh before glaring at them. "No, Mustang, you and Armstrong are useless to me, the woman will be used for Genevieve, my new Alexander will be returned to the cell, and the other man will be used to revive Thomas after I kill him."

"We won't be that easy to kill!" Roy growled a snap of his fingers giving birth to a wave of fire that flew at her, she held up a card with a circle on it, her fingers touched the circle before wind blew his flames out of the way and Armstrong punched the ground, sending Dame Woodgrove into the air where she immediately threw several cards….at the house.

"It was a trick!" someone cried as spiked grew out of the ground, stabbing through the house at torso level.

"Shit," Woodgrove whispered before falling to the ground, pulling Ed with her. Quickly she was over him again and Ed couldn't fight the urge to curl into her. The little boy in Ed screamed as the spikes burst through the rubble, a few with flames clinging to them. Ed shivered in fear as the world turned into a dust storm, the sound of more spikes ripping through the house too much for the young man to take. He began screaming for the first person to enter his mind.

"Mom!" he screamed and there was a tightening to the body above him and he felt fingers in his hair and warm breath by his ear.

"It's okay, Ed, it's okay. I'll get you out of this," the voice whispered and Ed's arm wrapped around the body over him, helping him bury his face in the neck that smelt slightly of roses and lilies entwined with the crispy scent of alchemy hanging on it. It was a comforting smell, not quite blocking out the scent of charred skin and burning rubble, but a smell that slowly brought Ed back to himself.

"Angela Woodgrove, you are under arrest for multiple counts of murder, multiple counts of human transmutation, multiple counts of kidnapping, and multiple counts of assault on officers," Roy cried, this time his flames were manipulated into hitting the house.

"I doubt that you'll live to see me taken to court," Dame Woodgrove snapped, glaring at the house.

"You've killed Angel!" Tom screamed in rage and the woman glared at him over her shoulder.

"Don't make me laugh, your slippery sister is still alive, I can practically hear her breathing," Dame Woodgrove snarled. "Her suffering will be the kind that even demons pale at!"

"I'm sorry, Madame, but you are not going to hurt anyone in that building," Armstrong stated as he pulled up a piece of rock and threw it into the air before punching it at the woman. She simply sidestepped and blew away more flames.

"None of you is a challenge, the only person I want to take care of is Angelina," it was hissed in such a way even Hawkeye couldn't suppress a shiver.

"Hawkeye," Roy growled and the woman nodded as she raised a gun.

"Fools, I'll kill you all," Dame Woodgrove hissed as she raised up the ground around them and trapped them in a bubble of solid stone.

Ed lay huddled on the floor as Woodgrove stood over him, like a mother horse with her foal. It was a protected feeling, something Ed hadn't felt it quite some time. There was a disturbing creak from the very core of the house and Woodgrove's body tightened above him.

"The house is going to collapse, we need a way out," she growled before reaching out and opening a door. Ed peered in to see a large, empty sitting room. Three spikes went across it, but on the far side was a huge fireplace, easily capable of holding three Al's. Woodgrove slowly got to her belly on the floor next to Ed. "Climb onto my back." Ed did it and she drew a circle on the floor with a piece of chalk. Ed had no idea where the chalk came from.

"I've never seen that circle before," Ed whispered and Woodgrove smirked.

"Marcus figured it out. Mother and Father never knew how he could more around so quickly, but I did," she whispered as she touched the circle, slowly the wood beneath them rolled, like a gentle wave, delivering them to the edge of the fireplace.

"That was amazing," Ed whispered and Woodgrove nodded.

"Yea, now let's make our getaway," Woodgrove stated as she began to draw inside of the fireplace.

"Can you get us out?" Roy demanded and Armstrong stared at the wall he had been pounding on.

"Sir, I believe she forced us underground," Armstrong stated and Roy looked around him at the hole, sure enough they should have been out of the hole.

"Try going up," Roy ordered as he turned to look at the others. Havoc was very pale and thin. "Didn't she feed you?" Havoc looked at him and nodded.

"Yea, but not much. I really think she was trying to reprogram us. It was like the old war methods I read about in the Xing Wars. Xing warriors would try and reprogram enemy troops into believe that Xing was the true country. I think she was going to try that on Ed and me," Havoc stated, running his fingers through his hair. "Thank God that thing saved us."

"The chimera…" Roy whispered.

Dame Woodgrove stared at the flat ground where the soldiers were buried and then turned to glare at the burning house.

"Let's try another means of persuasion," she hissed as she pulled out a knife and carved into the base of one of the spikes she sent through the house. The spike turned to dust and the middle section of the house collapsed. "Come out, come out, Angelina. Come to Mommy."

Slowly, Dame Woodgrove moved to the next spike.

Ed coughed furiously as the dust hit them and Woodgrove covered him again.

"She's bringing the house down!" Ed hissed as he tried to get air into his lungs.

"I know," Woodgrove whispered. "Don't speak, we need to see which way she's heading with this."

Dame Woodgrove looked at the next spike before turning it to dust. Her lips curled, revealing her teeth in a rather nasty snarl.

"I grow tired of this game, Angelina," Dame Woodgrove hissed. "I can play this for a little while longer, but you can't." She put the knife against the base of the next spike. Suddenly the simian chimera attacked, Dame Woodgrove snarled as she used the knife efficiently to remove its head from the neck. "Such poor quality." She stepped on the tiny body, making it crunch beneath her feet as she moved to the spike.

"She put us in deep," Armstrong coughed and Roy fought the urge to cough in response. It was clear that both Havoc and Hawkeye were feeling the lack of oxygen. Tom and Maes were watching Armstrong's progress.

"Keep going," Roy ordered, giving in to the urge to cough.

"Yes, Sir," Armstrong stated before the next hit caused a small hole to form nearly ten feet above the floor.

"Finally," Maes sighed and Roy nodded.

"Major, stop, we don't want Mrs. Woodgrove to notice us," Roy stated and Armstrong nodded. He began to widen the hole with his hands.

"What are you thinking Roy?" Maes asked and Roy looked down as he thought.

"Ed and Woodgrove need our help. I highly doubt we'll be able to take down Mrs. Woodgrove alive," Roy stated.

"If you have to kill her, do it!" Tom spat. "I rather not see this hit the news, this would ruin our father and brothers' good names. I don't want that to happen."

"Sir, this is a serious investigation," Hawkeye stated and Tom grabbed her arm.

"My family name is at stake, the memories of three very loyal soldiers will be tainted by the acts this woman has committed. I will not allow my father's memory nor the memories of my brothers be tarnished like this," he stated. "It would be wise for you to remember that, Lieutenant."

"I have no problem pretending that it never happened," Havoc stated. "I'm pretty sure Ed feels the same way."

"Then we're planning to take her down?" Maes asked and Roy nodded.

"Shoot to kill," Roy growled.

Ed and Woodgrove stayed still, the dust around them thick and heavy.

"Which way is she moving?" Ed coughed and Woodgrove looked up.

"Away from us," she hissed before returning to her circle. "Hold on, almost done…this is a lot harder without an arm."

"Tell me about it," Ed sighed and she chuckled. There was no light as the hole appeared in the back.

"Let me go ahead, stay in here," she stated, climbing out of the hole into the fire lit night.

Dame Woodgrove was destroying the last spike on one side of the house, that side of the house collapsed completely. She growled, still sensing the alchemic energy hanging on her daughter.

"Come out, come out, little Angelina," she growled before a shot rang out and she grabbed her leg, hissing in rage.

"Angela Woodgrove, we told you before, you are under arrest," Roy stated as he stood to one side, flames flying at the woman.

"Oh, hell!" Dame Woodgrove snarled before diving under one of the spikes. The flames began eating the spike before a roll of earth sent Roy onto his back, buried from the waist down in the ground.

"Come out, Mother, make it easy on yourself," Tom cried his own gun trained on the spike.

"Nothing about this has been easy, I'm not about to make it that way either," she hissed as she hit the ground again, causing the trees behind Tom to lower some branches and lift him off the ground.

Maes rushed her, throwing his blades at her, only to find himself wrapped up in a stone cocoon. His blades buried in walls of rock.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, Colonel Mustang, please escort my brother and Lieutenant Havoc out of here. I will finish this," a voice said and from a plume of smoke, from around the side of the house, stepped Detective Woodgrove. "My mother's life is mine to claim."

"Oh no, my dear, you won't make the claim on my life," Dame Woodgrove chuckled and there was the sound of a gun.

"It wasn't me," Hawkeye stated and the group turned back to the scene in front of them. Dame Woodgrove was gripping her bloody stump, her left arm on the ground.

"You shot me," Dame Woodgrove stated and the Detective nodded.

"That I did, but I missed, that was supposed to be your head," the Detective stated, taking a stance that put her body towards the group, her legs shoulder width apart, and her arm extended out towards her mother. "Goodbye Mother."

"I don't think so," Dame Woodgrove screamed. As Dame Woodgrove hit the ground, causing the house to collapse, Detective Woodgrove pulled the trigger.

Roy and Havoc watched as the building collapsed, the rest of the structure falling inward before a huge plume of smoke surrounded the battling Woodgroves and most of the clearing. Gray, nothingness surrounded them as they heard the sound of falling stone and then the crash of something heavy and huge.

Envy was pulling pieces of webbing out of his hair while Lust led the group, they stopped close enough to get a lungful of smoke.

"What happened?" Envy asked and Lust looked at him.

"I don't know, why don't we wait to find out," she stated and he gave her a glare as the smoke danced around them.

The smoke cleared and the house was gone, the group ran towards the rubble, the stone fireplace just barely visible above the rubble.

"Are they alive?!" Tom cried, climbing towards the spot where his sister had been.

"I found Madame Woodgrove," Armstrong stated and the group rushed to the site.

The woman's body was laying on her back, surrounded by dirt and rubble, her body untouched from the last time they saw her, save for the small, round, neat hole right in the front of her forehead. Maes slowly reached down, pressing the pads of his fingers against her throat.

"No pulse, she's dead," Maes stated and then looked back at the group. "So where's Angelina?"

"Over here," Roy called and the group approached him. Roy had moved a few logs to reveal the body of Angelina Woodgrove on the ground. Her remaining arm was thrown over her forehead in defense while her body was covered in the dirt of the rubble. Her right leg was under the remains of the chimney, a pool of blood slowly spreading out from under the rock.

"Can anyone hear me? Detective Woodgrove? Mustang?" a voice called and Al ran for the fireplace, disappearing into a hole. Out was pulled a familiar shape, minus two limbs, yellow hair that was darker because of the grime.

"Ed!" Maes called and several of the group moved towards the young alchemist.

"Pity, I was hoping to kill her myself," Envy pouted and Lust shook her head.

"Well, we know he's safe, let's go," Lust stated as she turned her back to the clearing and began to walk away from the town of Laketon, Gluttony following quickly.

"Still, I was so going to enjoy watching the life drain from those gold eyes," Envy spat before following his younger siblings.

Tom Woodgrove reached down, moving his sister's hair out of her face before placing his fingers against her throat. His eyes widened before he looked at the other.

"Roy, come quick! She's alive! Angel's still alive!" Tom cried and the group stared at the woman on the ground…the pool of blood growing all around her.

AN: So…what do you think? Is the story over or do I have one more in me? Anyone want to know what happens to Woodgrove or are we all happy Ed's back where he's supposed to be? Feedback is ALWAYS welcome.


	14. Goodbyes

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, but I do have several naughty ideas to be done to/with/by Roy.

~*~

14 - Goodbyes

"Al, I'm fine," Ed chuckled nervously as Al placed his lunch in front of him. Ed tried not to gag as he saw the large cup of milk on his tray.

"No, Brother, you're not. The doctors said you were malnourished and that you suffered a large amount of atrophy," Al stated, pulling a chair next to the bed.

"You're worrying too much," Ed sighed. "Did they say when I could have my arm and leg back?" Al looked down, it was bad news.

"They said they wanted your mechanic to look it over before reattaching it. They suspect that Mrs. Woodgrove might have done something to it," Al said quietly.

"Oh man, Winry is going to be mad," Ed whined.

"You bet I am, Edward!" a familiar voice cried and Ed looked up quickly to see Winry, followed by the group of military men and women. "I swear, Ed, you must think you're indestructible." Ed smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I have the best automail in the world, I don't have to worry," he said and Winry glared at him.

"Ed, that won't always be enough!" Winry cried before Maes placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Winry, we need to talk to Ed, why don't you check out his automail while we talk?" Maes explained and slowly the two left while Tom stepped up to the side of the bed.

"Edward, I'd like to apologize for what happened to you on behalf of my entire family. I am so sorry, but you have to understand, my father and brothers were great men, to have this announced, it would ruin their memory," Tom explained and Ed nodded.

"I understand, I mean, she was crazy but the rest of you…Marcus even…I don't mind keeping my mouth shut over all this," Ed stated and Roy nodded in approval. "I just ask one thing in return."

"Anything, Edward," Tom stated and Ed gave his a cold, golden gaze.

"I want to know how Detective Woodgrove is doing," Ed stated and Tom raised his eyebrows.

"I'll have you updated by her nurse," Tom stated. "Also, I'll let you know how she's doing when you return to Central." Ed's brows lowered and he scowled.

"I'm not leaving till I talk to her," he stated and that took everyone back a step.

"Edward, I don't think you understand the magnitude of Miss Woodgrove's injuries," Hawkeye stated and Tom held up his hand.

"No, I'll take you to see her, Lieutenant Havoc, could you have the nurse bring in a wheelchair," it was and order and Havoc quickly returned with the wheelchair. Al placed Ed in the chair and Tom rolled it out of the room.

There was a woman and already in the room when they arrived and Tom left Ed by the door as he walked over and kissed the woman on the forehead before ruffling the hair on the boy's head.

"Catherine, Markie, it's good to see you," Tom said and the little boy looked up.

"Uncle, Uncle, Auntie Angie won't wake up," the child whined, his green eyes brimming with tears as his cheeks were flushed. The woman behind him stroked his cheek, her dark hair in a tight bun and her other hand on her large belly.

"No, Auntie is very sick, Markie," Tom whispered and the little boy whimpered.

"I want Auntie to play with me. She promised to play with me," the child sobbed before burying his face into his mother's shoulder.

"How is she?" Tom asked and the woman named Catherine, who only had the same hair as the woman in the bed, shook her head.

"The last surgery went well enough, however, they don't know if she lost too much blood or not. If she makes it through the night, they're sure she'll recover," the woman began to sob, it was a harsh noise. It was the type of noise that came without practice, as if crying was something this woman had never done before.

Al thought that Detective VanBuren had not been through much in her life that made her cry, however, when Detective Woodgrove had cried with her son, that was a practiced and well worn sound of agony. Al liked Miss Woodgrove much more than her sister.

Ed looked at the woman that had saved him, her skin was much too pale, her lips were the same color as her pallid cheek, the one that wasn't bandaged. She looked like a mummy, what he could see of her shoulder was covered with white bandages, speckled with red-brown spots and bright red ones too. Her face was contorted in pain as she gave shallow gasps. Her hand was fisted in the sheets and her eyes were moving under dark purple lids.

"Go home, Catherine, Jordan will take care of you, besides, all this worrying will cause you to go into labor," Tom said and the woman sniffed.

"Two months early isn't that bad, this one's big anyway," she stated and Tom shook his head.

"Go home before I force you," he stated and the woman took her son's hand and exited the room. It was quiet as Ed stared at the woman, she looked so frail, as if the slightest pressure would cause her to crack and break. "Do you understand what you are asking, Ed? There's a chance Angel might never wake up." Ed looked at him.

"Angel? No, she'll wake up, I know she will," Ed stated as he looked at her. "Can you move me closer?" Ed was next to the bed, he reached out his hand and took hers.

"Detec….Angel, thank you for saving me. I'm not going to leave the hospital until I can say thank you to you and have you tell me I'm welcome," Ed stated and for a moment, he could have sworn that the unconscious woman squeezed his hand.

"Ed…" Roy started but stopped as he looked at the boy. Sometimes, he truly forgot that Ed was a child and this was a child's most serious request. "…get better."

"Colonel Woodgrove, I swear that I will not say a word of this to anyone if I get to be here with her," Ed stated and Tom nodded.

"That can very easily be arranged," Tom stated.

Ed smirked as he stood up on his own for the first time in nearly four weeks, his automail had not only needed to be repaired, but it also needed a diagnostic badly.

"Ed, just drink it," Winry growled and Al snickered at the looks on their faces.

"I don't want it," Ed snapped and Winry pulled out her wrench.

"I think you've healed enough for me to remind you who you're talking to!" she cried and the nurse walked in.

"Miss Rockbell, if you don't mind, some patients are trying to rest, besides, Mr. Elric requested to visit Miss Woodgrove today," the nurse stated and Winry felt all of three years old.

"Come on Winry, I saw a great automail shop in town. How about it? Anything you like, Ed's treat," Al suggested and Ed glared at his brother while Winry did her best imitation of Major Armstrong.

"Yeah! Come on, Al, sunlight's wasting!" she cried and practically dragged the armor behind her.

"Brother!" Al managed to cry before vanishing with Winry. Ed smirked. He would be paying for his stubbornness through the nose, but if it meant he could see his rescuer without those two hanging over him, he'd pay it without complaint.

Woodgrove had improved, the doctors said that she could have automail installed at anytime…if she would regain consciousness. That's what worried everyone, Angel Woodgrove had been unconscious for over a week.

The nurse left Ed's wheelchair in the front of the room, the young alchemist walked across and sat in the chair next to the battered woman. Her eyes twitched and Ed could see she was dreaming…violently almost. Ed gently stroked the back of her hand with his real one.

"Matt…" a voice hissed and Ed quickly looked at the woman as her head moved to the side. Ed was about to go get the nurse when Woodgrove's hand clamped around his, not hard enough to hurt, but not loose enough for him to pull free. Ed began to panic as the first tears slipped out from under her eyelids. "Matthew…I'm…."

"A-a-angel?" Ed asked and the woman shook her head.

"Sorry…" she sobbed and Ed froze as he watched her cry, names and broken phrases fell from her lips. It was like a train wreck, you don't want to see the mess of human and metal frames, but you cannot pull your gaze away once you've seen it.

"Baby…" she sobbed and Ed tightened his grip on her hand. Deep down, the young alchemist knew what the woman was searching for, he himself was searching for it too.

"Mommy?" he asked in his gentlest voice and her whole body froze. Ed wondered if what he was doing was going to result in more damage, he knew what she wanted to hear, so he'd tell her. "It's okay, Mommy. I forgive you." Her hand held his tightly and slowly her eyes opened, just a slit of gold on her ashen face.

"Matthew….my baby…" she whispered and moved her body, as if reaching for him with an arm she no longer had. Ed moved closer to her, keeping his automail out of her sight. Her hand moved up his arm, pulling him toward her, forcing him to practically lay over her as she hugged him. "I'm sorry, Baby, I'm sorry I ruined your life."

"No, Mommy, you were great. I love you, Mommy, I forgive you. It's okay now," Ed whispered, trying to sound like the creature his captor created. The woman under him sobbed. "I love you, Mommy. It's okay." Ed looked at her face to see tears on her cheeks, not from her, but from his eyes.

"I love you too, Matthew, I'll always love you. You were the baby I always wanted," she whispered, her hand moving up and down Ed's back, the way only a mother's can. "I will miss you, you were so handsome…like my own personal angel." Gold eyes closed and her hand fell from the half embrace. Ed couldn't let go, not yet, there was something about the warmth of her hug that made him ache. The empty place where his mother's loss had made seemed to want to crawl into that warmth.

Ed pulled back and shook his head before he walked over to the door and knocked.

"She was talking in her sleep," Ed whispered, keeping his head down so his tears wouldn't be seen.

"Talking? Quick, get Dr. Ackley!" the nurse cried and Ed was taken back to his room.

~*~

"Brother, it's time we head back to Central," Al stated and Ed shook his head.

"I want to talk to her," Ed stated stubbornly and Al sighed, this was one of those battles he didn't want to be in.

"The doctors said she couldn't have visitors outside of family yet," Winry added and Ed glared at them, not very intimidating while he was still in a hospital gown.

A nurse suddenly rushed into the room and smiled at Ed.

"Miss Woodgrove requested to see you," the nurse panted, something about the smile was forced.

"I thought she couldn't receive visitors," Ed said as he looked at the nurse and the smile faltered.

"She was quite insistent, so much so that the doctors believe she can see other guests," the nurse stated and Ed smirked as he headed out.

"I swear, Al, he's like a child sometimes," Winry sighed as they followed him and Al nodded.

"I don't care! I want to see that boy with my own two eyes!" a voice yelled and there was the sound of something breakable meeting a wall. Two doctors dove out of the room, one covered with what looked like the mashed potatoes that Ed had with lunch, the other one smelling of lemonade.

"Ah good! Mr. Elric!" the Lemonade doctor cried grabbing Ed by the real arm as the other doctor wiped potato off his glasses.

"You others might want to wait out here," he grumbled, realizing he was smearing it more than cleaning it.

"Miss Woodgrove, we've got Mr. Elric here," Lemonade doctor cried.

"Send him in and then stay out!" the voice cried and Ed was shoved through the doors, surprised to see quite a mess, it made him think a bit about Izume. Sitting up, propped by several pillows was the woman that rescued Ed. "Are you going to stand by the door or are you going to take a seat?" The smile on her face was gentle, making it hard for Ed to believe that she had made such a mess.

"I'll sit down," he stated as he walked around piles of broken ceramics as well as a tray of needles. He sat down and looked at her. It was amazing, while she was still pale, it was a natural pale, like Mustang. Her eyelids were no longer purple and her lips were now a shade of pink that spoke of good health. Her long hair was wavy, falling around her head in a swirl of a dark red-brown.

"I see you've recovered," she stated, smiling slightly. "Do you feel better though?" Ed stared at her a moment.

"I've been better," he replied and she nodded.

"I know that feeling," she sighed and Ed watched as she stroked the edge of her shoulder. "I hope you don't hold it against my family that my mother was insane." She wasn't looking at him and Ed slowly reached out, finding it much harder to do so now that she was awake. Ever so slowly he wrapped a hand around hers, looking at the floor.

"I wanted to thank you, for everything. I don't care why she did it, you gave up an arm and a leg for me and…I think that's more than enough," he whispered and then the feeling of a thumb gently running over his hand brought his eyes to her. She was looking out the window.

"No, mental wounds are the kinds that are hardest to heal, Ed, I want to make sure I saved you from that," she sighed and looked at Ed. She looked so much like his kidnapper, but the light in her eyes was sad, mournful.

"You did," Ed stated, in reality the whole thing was starting to feel like some horrible nightmare that would soon be forgotten. "You made it in time." She smiled as she looked out the window.

"You know, it's harder from my end, Edward," she sighed, her hand closing around Ed's, trapping him. "I know what you did Edward. The moment I saw your brother, I knew." Ed looked down.

"Most alchemists do," he stated and she nodded, not looking at him.

"It is possible, but the cost is far too high," she explained and Ed looked up. "Any alchemist that has lost someone they loved has researched the taboo. I did it when Alan left me after Matthew's death."

"You tried to bring him back?" Ed asked and she shook her head.

"No," she sighed and then looked at Ed, golden eyes glazy and tired. "No, I knew I was in no state to try human transmutation and I destroyed my research. It is called taboo for a reason and no matter how much I hated it, the Alchemic rules cannot be broken. You must give something of equal value and the only thing I had was my life."

"You did the right thing," Ed stated and Woodgrove nodded.

"Still, it is not the way of the world for it to happen like it did for me," she sighed, releasing his hand and stroking his cheek. "The children are meant to bury the parents, not the other way around. We who give birth know this. We know that we pass on our strength and knowledge to our offspring so that they may use it because as age claims us…we have no more use for it," she sighed, looking out the window and reclaiming Ed's hand. "She would not have been happy if she had come back anyway. She wanted you to grow, not all of life is flowers and sunshine, Edward. Life is dealing with death and the negatives."

"I know that now," he grumbled and there was a laugh.

"I know you do," she chuckled. "I know, I tell you this now, so you know what a childless mother has to say. Alchemy is a great power, but if you spend all your time chasing it…you forget the other great power you've been granted."

"Life," Ed nodded and Woodgrove patted his hand.

"So, do you know a good automail engineer, I'm in desperate need of one," Woodgrove stated and Ed smiled.

"How is she?" Ed asked and the doctor outside the door just shook his head.

"Miss Rockbell told us to stay out here and that is what we're doing," the other doctor stated and there was a cry of pain.

"Brother, it will take some time," Al stated and Ed shook his brother off. Ed knew that automail ports took a long time to implant, he had the same damn operation performed.

"I know, but did it take this long for me?" Ed asked and Al shook his head.

"It was several more hours, Brother," Al explained, wishing his brother would sit down and stop wearing a hole into the carpet.

"Seemed like days in that chair," Ed muttered as he continued his pacing.

"She made me think of you, Ed," Pinako stated as she wiped her forehead free of sweat. "She didn't let out a scream, but her pain was obvious."

"Is she done?" Ed asked and Pinako nodded.

"However, Ed, she's been given a lot of painkillers, she won't be up till tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest," Pinako stated and Winry sighed.

"Don't worry, Ed, we gave her the best we have to offer, it's a lot like yours but not as light weight," Winry explained. "I'm just surprised that she insisted on tipping us after the procedure."

"She's a Lady, Winry, she wanted to make sure we were rewarded for our work," Pinako explained. "Some women, a dying breed really, want to make sure everything is taken care of in the most courteous manner."

"Madam, could you please smoke outside?" a nurse asked and Pinako chuckled before heading out.

"That must have been some tip," Ed muttered as he watched the Rockbells exit the hospital.

"Come on, Brother, you can't stay here any longer. We'll come by and visit Miss Woodgrove tomorrow," Al whispered and Ed sighed before allowing his brother to usher him out of the hospital.

She was reading the newspaper when they came in, her hair hanging around her head as she smiled at the boy.

"Hello Ed, good afternoon Al," she said, folding the paper and waving with her new arm. "What do you think? Was it worth the arm and leg I paid for?"

"Let's see it," Ed stated, plopping down on a chair while Al gently took his seat. Woodgrove removed her blanket, exposing a leg that became metal above the knee. She stepped out of bed and stood up.

"That's nice, Winry must have made it," Al chirped and Woodgrove chuckled as she kicked the leg a few times before moving the arm around in the socket and a bending it a few times.

"Still, I'd have preferred to have kept the originals, but these aren't half bad," she laughed. "They say I can leave in a few weeks." Ed smiled.

"That's great, you'll be back on the force in no time," he laughed and there was silence. Woodgrove was standing by the window, leaning against the wall with her new shoulder.

"No, Ed, I'm not going back," she sighed and then looked at Al. "Al, could I have a word with your brother alone?"

"Of course, Miss Woodgrove," Al stated before leaving and closing the door.

"Miss Woodgrove?" Ed asked and she sat down on her bed, indicating that Ed sit next to her. Slowly, he joined her and she wrapped her real arm around his shoulder, pulling him in a half hug.

"Call me Angel, Ed," she stated, running her hand up to force his head against her shoulder. Her head rested on his as her fingers played with his bangs before moving down to trace his automail port. "I'd have never let you get this if I had been your mother." Ed didn't move, but he stiffened.

"Why not?" he asked and she chuckled, rubbing his back in that soothing mother-motion.

"I did research when Matthew's arm was amputated. Automail is efficient, but it's also heavy. This stuff is great, but I bet when you first got it, it was heavier. They've recently gotten into using lighter metals for it," Angel explained, her hand back in his hair. "The poundage caused a stunt in size. You'll never reach your full potential, Ed, not physically anyway. The automail slowed you down."

"You'd have kept me crippled?" Ed asked, not accusingly, but in the pouty manner of a child.

"No, I'd have made you use wood," she sighed before turning toward him and giving him a hug. "You don't strike me as the type to cry." Ed then noticed the dampness in his hair.

"No…I don't really," he whispered as he moved into the hug, his arms not around her, but hers holding him to her, his head under her chin.

"There's no shame in it, Ed," she whispered, her voice cracking. "In a way, you make me think of Matthew, he never cried. Not even as a baby. He'd wail, but he didn't cry. I want to ask a rather large favor of you, Edward." Ed slowly pulled back, enough to look up at the flushed face with the tear-trails still on her face.

"What, Angel?" he asked as she reached out with her flesh hand and caught his cheek.

"Cry with me," she whispered. "Cry with me for those we've lost." Ed looked at her and for a moment she wasn't herself anymore. She was still pale, but her eyes were a soft blue, like the sea, her hair a rich brown, like healthy earth, and her face was that of the one he called…

"Mother…" he whispered before embracing the woman in front of him, his face buried in her neck, the scent of roses and lilies soft and cushioning. Her arms were around him as her cheek rested on his skull.

"Let it out," she whispered, the dampness in his hair increased as he was certain the dampness on her neck had.

Automail and flesh wrapped around them, their pain echoing the others. Winry stood in the doorway and silently closed the door, once again she had intruded in a part of Ed's life that was not for her to know.

"What is it, Winry?" Al asked and Winry shook her head. Al looked in the small window to see the Detective holding Ed, his head on her breasts as he sobbed. "Oh."

"Let's go, Al," Winry sighed and Al nodded. Ed wouldn't want them to see him weeping, Ed was too introverted to let those he loved see the pain he carried, he was only able to share such pain with another like him.

Angel Woodgrove and Edward Elric remained in their embrace for over an hour, but the end, Ed had fallen asleep and Angel had tucked him in. She washed his face in his sleep and then cleaned herself up.

This kind of grief was only to be shared with those few others capable of understanding it.

"Al, are you ready yet?" Ed asked as he looked around their hotel room, gathering the last of his things into his case.

"Brother, I've been ready for a week now," Al sighed from the door and Ed nodded with a smirk.

"We'll stop at the hospital to say goodbye to Angel and then we'll go to the train station," Ed stated as if Al didn't already know the plan.

"Alright, Brother, but try not to take too long," Al teased, over the week Ed had taken a liking to the soon-to-be ex-detective.

The day was bright and shiny, birds singing and Ed couldn't help but smile, it was like a storm had passed, leaving the land stronger and more full of life.

"A penny for your thoughts, Brother," Al said and Ed just smiled. How could he explain the feeling of life, being alive, being glad to be alive. Ed was also trying to fight the sadness that was building. The week with Angel had been…therapeutic. She was like Maes in a way, a person that gave him a feeling of…completeness. She didn't treat him like a child, nor like an adult. She mixed it and made him feel just right.

Ed thought about all the things she had told him, about working with his father, about getting herself thrown out of the military, about her husband, her son, and her siblings. He didn't want to admit it, but the stuff she told him about working with his father were impressive. Their work on the photo-processes of alchemy were amazing, no wonder his father was titled Light. She also spoke about working with a young alchemist by the name of Nash Tringham. Ed bet his automail that Fletcher and Russell would give a lot to talk to Angel about their father.

They entered the hospital and waved to the nurse who waved back, they all loved the two brothers, babying Ed, which he could barely stand if it wasn't for the amount of junk food they gave him, and giggling over how polite and sweet Al was. They pushed open the door to Angel's room to find Detective VanBuren sitting on the empty bed.

"Where's Angel?" Ed demanded and VanBuren simply sighed.

"Gone," she stated.

"But she was perfectly fine!" Al cried. "We talked with her yesterday and she was good and healthy!" The horror at the thought of their new friend's death obvious in Al's voice. VanBuren laughed before shaking her head and massaging her large stomach.

"No, Mr. Elric, she's gone. She…checked herself out early," VanBuren grumbled. "She'd been cleaning out her apartment since she woke up through friends and such. I guess she figured two weeks in the hospital was enough." Ed blinked as he looked at the empty bed. She was gone…

"Can she do that?" Al cried and VanBuren shrugged.

"Not legally, no, but she did it," the woman sighed. "Just like her to vanish like that and leave those of us who worry about her behind." Ed was facing the window, his back to the other two.

"She…she didn't even say goodbye," the betrayal in Ed's voice was obvious and Al froze.

"Brother…" he started.

"No, Mr. Elric, she didn't, but that doesn't mean she didn't leave one behind," VanBuren sighed. Ed whipped around to see a white envelop in her hand, his name on the front in a very…alchemist script. "I always hated her handwriting, but she never cared what I thought."

"See, Brother, she didn't forget you," Al stated with a smile that only he could give.

"Don't be insulted, Mr. Elric, that's just the way, Angelina works. When she ran away with Joshua to join the military she did the same thing," VanBuren said as she stood up and handed the letter to Ed. "Angelina was never one for saying goodbye and watching someone leave her behind, even before Alan left her. She's more the type to leave you and give you the choice of going on your way or following her."

"Thanks, Detective," Ed said as he looked at the letter in his hands.

"Think nothing of it, have a nice trip, and if you see her, tell her I'm not talking to her for this stunt," she headed out of the room.

"Goodbye, Detective!" Al chirped as he looked at the letter. "That's pretty thick, Brother."

"Yea," Ed stated as he looked down to see a small note on the back.

'Save this for the train ride.' Ed nodded and placed the letter in his pocket.

The station was crowded with people boarding and exiting the two trains and the Elrics pushed their way onto the train to Central.

"Brother, do you think Miss Woodgrove will be alright?" Al asked as he took his seat and Ed sighed as he looked out the window into the next train as it started to move. His eyes widened and he stood up, trying to look through the windows better. Sitting in the opposite direction was a woman with dark red-brown hair in a loose ponytail at the base of her head, gold eyes on the book in her hand, her automail hand. She looked up and as she was pulled out of Ed's view, he was certain he saw her smile and wave. "What is it, Brother?" Ed slowly sat down, pulling the letter out of his pocket.

"Nothing. I'm sure Angel will be fine…wherever she's going," Ed muttered.

Al was reading a book when Ed pulled out the letter and began to read.

'Dear Edward,

I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but I'm just not good at them, especially with people I care about. Forgive me for just vanishing, but that's just how I am, I'm sure you understand the need to shed the old life for a new one. All the things from my old life have been put away and hidden, as I'm sure all the things from your old life are.

I don't want you to think that our time together wasn't special, it was, but I found myself thinking of you as a son and the last thing I want is for you to think I was pulling a move like my mother. I wasn't thinking of you as Matthew, no offense, but you could never replace the spot in my heart that my son held. No, my heart was telling me to take care of you, something I know I shouldn't do. You're on a mission, I can tell, I gathered from our talks that you were searched for the Philosopher's Stone. If I treated you like I would a son, I would prevent you from trying for that.

Yes, I know of the Philosopher's Stone, a lot of my research went into it after the loss of my family. I learned enough and abandoned the stone. I would advise you to do the same, but I know you won't so I will not waste the time. Instead I will give you this, speak to an alchemist by the name of Marco. I don't know if this is old news or not, but Marco and I came to the same conclusion on the stone.

How I wish I could help you, Ed, how I wish I could erase the pain you've experienced in your short time on this Earth. I can't, nor should I. Your pain is what has made you strong and molded you into the man you are now. It hurts to see you lost in this world, without your parents, you are like a ship lost at sea, no home port to keep you safe in time of trouble. If you ever decide to give up on the stone and when your contract with the military is through, feel free to find me. My door will always be open to you and to your brother.

I wish you success, Ed, but only the success that will bring you back to, wherever you call, home save and sound. I have heard of a village to the north, near the Briggs mountain range, it is small, but that's what I'm looking for. I'll be there, if you ever do come searching for me, Edward, contact Tom, he'll know the exacts, seeing as I'll be sending him a letter not long after I settle down.

It was a pleasure getting to know you Ed, you are an amazing young man and your future is bright, no matter what you decide. I can feel the potential in you and I know, you will one day succeed, I only hope the price isn't too high. Even with the stone, the price of what you're asking for is astronomical. I hope to see you again one day.

Goodbye, Edward Elric, I will pray that you are always protected. And I mean it, come to visit me.

Love,

Angel'

Ed smiled before folding the letter up and placing it in his jacket. It was better that they hadn't seen each other for the goodbye, Ed wasn't certain he would have cried, but the tingle behind his eyes said different. He would visit her…one day, when they were whole.


End file.
